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The summer that wasn't

It's July 30. Summer, right?
Wrong!!!

In Michigan, we had our summer two weeks ago for about 10 days. Saw a recent post on Facebook that read:"You know you're in Michigan when you wear your bathing suit on Monday and your parka on Tuesday." We sweltered for a week or two and then were chilled again. That's where we are now. Chilling at 70.

Weather aside, it no longer feels much like summer. The back-to-school ads, commercials, displays and talk have begun full-force. And I feel like I just got used to having the three-not-so-little Piggins home again and now I have to get them ready for school. Delaney has a little longer, but Michael leaves for Wayne State law in two weeks and Matthew for his sophomore year at DePauw in three. 

I get the nest re-feathered and damn these 'baby' birds but they stay for too short a time then fly away. *sigh* Since this is the "glass half full" blog of a pseudo-Pollyanna, I will revert to thinking positively about the emptying nest.

* There will be fewer dishes
* There will be fewer messes
* There will be more laundry detergent
* There will be fewer trips to the grocery store
* There will be more silence and less television
* There will be fewer meals to prepare
* There will be fewer hugs
* There will be fewer people to entertain Wally our ADD dog
* There will be fewer night owls to keep me company . . .

Wait, that didn't go the way it was intended. "There will be fewer" was supposed to be a positive . . . In this case it can go either way. Since there are fewer days left of summer, I will take each one of them and fill it with fewer complaints about the messes or dishes and replace it with more appreciation for the ones making those messes or dirtying those dishes. 


Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

I put my pride aside and got my ass off the grass and into the wheelchair. {I spent a couple minutes deciding whether to put an exclamation mark after that declaration or to put the period after that statement. I think the period better suits my mood about getting said ass into the wheelchair!} On July 4, Saugatuck has a wonderfully unique parade that includes quirky participants like the artsy-fartsy campers at OxBow art colony and the LGBT members of a local foundation along with the more traditional participants like Girl Scouts, fire trucks, and local politicians. It had been a couple years since I had been to the parade, this year, though, my Mom and sister were in town and I wanted to take them. So we loaded up in the van, including Kerri's wheelchair and my own. Once we parked, John asked if I wanted to use my chair and I initially balked but then remembered that it can be a long, hot parade and it might be better to have a place to sit. So, I acquiesced and took the cha...

Don't cry for me ...

Song lyrics or titles run through my mind to often sum up a situation or add humor to one. Today, it's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Only today the title is "Don't cry for me anybody"! I mean, I get it, that people feel bad that I've got breast cancer and that I've been living with MS for nearly 27 years. And I've had other issues that I've blogged about related to #metoo. I get that it seems like a lot looking in from the outside. I hear your comments and appreciate your support. But here's the thing, it doesn't feel overwhelming to me, looking out from the inside. Know what I mean? I live the life that I've been dealt and do it with the personality and faith I've been given. Which means, I could do one of the following: A. Have a miserable, pity-me attitude that would lead to being  miserable; B. Lean into my troubles and seek answers constantly either through research or angrily with God, which would lea...

Hey, looks aren't everything!

It doesn't look like much - especially from this distance - but that mini van behind the tow truck was our world for many years.  Our family traveled nearly 180,000 miles and tallied up even more memories within the walls/windows of that Ford Windstar. It took us to Washington D.C., Florida, on countless trips to Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and St. Louis. And all around this beautiful state of Michigan. It was the vehicle of choice when taking the three not-so-little Piggins on college visits and then hauling their worldly goods to the college they chose from those visits. It was easy to distinguish from every other white mini-van because there were bumper stickers from those colleges and also a couple from their high schools! It took the three not-so-little Piggins to golf matches, baseball and football games, auditions and rehearsals. It has held the golf team and members of the band, honors choir, quiz bowl, youth group and countless other configurations of groups. And ...