Midsummer’s Night Dream

canoeing with W and cousin John
canoeing with W and cousin John

Yesterday, Ivy greeted me at the bottom of the stairs when I came down. She had that look on her face that gave away where she’d been sleeping. I checked the living room chair, it was warm, and I looked at her, pointed to the chair, and looked again, sternly. She knew. I don’t think ‘my look’ is going to fix the issue, but I do believe she understood I was unhappy. I made coffee, let her out the backdoor and began the day. Yesterday morning it was sunny, warm, and muggy and Ivy and I could feel the air outside when we got the morning paper. This morning was a bit different, the weather had changed and it was cool enough to sleep with the windows open, significant benefit of living in the Midwest.  Instead of waiting for me to wake, she came upstairs to greet me at 3AM. I climbed out of bed and went downstairs with her. She wanted to go outside but at three in the morning and it being dark, very dark, I feared an encounter with a skunk – she stayed inside. I fell asleep on the couch and W woke me at 6.15 reminding me it was time to go to football camp. Ivy eagerly jumped in the backseat and rode along it’s sort of a summer tradition. She loves going for rides. When we returned the coffee was ready and it was quiet; time to read the newspaper, sip coffee, and listen to the birds call and chirp in the backyard. It is summer after all and the pace of life is slower, even at home. Last week we were up north at the cottage, where life’s pace is slow and peaceful.

Even at a slow and peaceful pace, I haven’t been writing much, lately. I feel a bit guilty, honestly more than a little guilty, a lot of guilt about my lack of writing. It is not that have do not have ideas or time. I honestly do not know what it is, but I still feel guilt. When I began blogging three summers ago, my goal was to write daily or almost daily and for the most part, I did. Looking back it was easy or so it seems. That was three years ago and life has fallen into a bit of a routine annual schedule with school, summer vacation, and activities. Occasionally, I look back at the prior year’s post – I do have three years of posts about Making the Days Count – and reminisce about days gone by, about times playing learning, visiting and growing.

This week we’ve been home. The kids have activities and appointments all week; we have appointments, too and they break the day into chunks. W has football all week and it is his last week of football camp before heading off to the National Scout Jamboree for ten days. We drop him off Sunday evening. He is excited and I would be, too. O has had softball games all week. Her teams are 1-2 and she is playing again tonight. Win and they play for the championship Saturday morning, lose and they play for consolation even earlier Saturday morning. Regardless of the outcome, it has been a good season for O playing softball.

I’ve been busy being my own tech support this week. We finally got B a new laptop, her old one crashed in late April and she’s been relying on her iPad and my laptop to keep up with mail and research. We got it Monday afternoon and by Tuesday morning I had rescued all of the old data and transferred it to the new laptop, loaded Office, virus software, and synced the new machine with iTunes and her iPad. She was ready to roll. Tuesday afternoon, W and I moved and re-wired the cable modem and router. It changed the dynamics of the home Wi-Fi and I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I was even able to hook up the rescue hard drive and begin backing up recent photos and organizing the storage space.

You just cannot backup photos without looking through them and remembering the days and times of the past, or at least I can’t I don’t have the self-discipline to not look at them and remember. Below are a few photos from the summer of ’03. That seems like a million years ago, but it has been only ten. A lot happened that summer and much has happened since – growing, learning, and time. Speaking of time, it has been almost three hours since I re-started this post. I’ve spent most of the time going back ten years and finding pictures to add to the post and tell my story. I’d better focus on the present and get this done, up and posted for all to read and reflect. Today is going to be a great day, I know it and I can feel it, so I had better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, especially when I look back to see where I have been; it helps me better understand where I am going.

Where were you in the summer of ’03? What were you doing?

10 thoughts on “Midsummer’s Night Dream

  1. Blogging is all about writing what you feel, even when you don’t know what to write, and it just happens. You sure write a lot anyway. Good stuff about your life and family. Looks like a good summer so far. I have to look back and think as I can’t remember what we did in ’03. Tons of pictures to go through.

    1. Thanks for the kind words and support. Going back in time is fun, as well as time consuming. Yesterday was an amazing day – O won her championship and we had fun playing cards. More on that later! Have a great day!

    1. We’re heading back to lake next week and I can hardly wait. Spent the day ripping and tearing at the basement – making headway. O won her game tonight and plays for the championship on Saturday. She’s excited. Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Well, I know you’ve looked a couple of times at my blog about our life in SW France. 2003 is the year it all began, because it was they year we bought the house, though we didn’t move here full time till 2007. It was really hard to make the days count that summer, because there was a heatwave to end all heatwaves. We weren’t used to temperatures going up to + 40 sometimes. Mornings early, up till say 9.30 were great, but after that…..
    No photos to share from those days: I wasn’t digital then. I dropped my camera the day we had the excitement of watching the fireplanes scoop up water in the local lake to fight all the forest fires. Film fell out: no photos. But we can manage to have memories even without snapshots, though they do help!

    1. I first saw you at Renee’s place and decided to follow your adventures. I usually follow the Tour at this time of the year but after all the scandals it has lost some of its luster. My dad lived in Paris for years until he retired in ’98. On our (my wife and I) last visit to France in ’97, we took off for Nice and spent a couple of days in the south. It is pretty, much different than Paris. We had a blast and stayed in a little bed and breakfast where the owner spoke NO ENGLISH and I spoke a twisted concoction of French, Spanish and English. Regardless, we had a wonderful time. I enjoy reading about your adventures and seeing the beautiful countryside. Salut!

  3. Loved our years canoeing….just might have to get one of those inflatable kayaks. You shouldn’t feel guilty about not posting. Sometimes the breaks here and there are good. Continue to enjoy your summer and those lovely Midwest nights 🙂

    1. It’s another beautiful night. The temps are going to get down into the upper fifties…. great sleeping weather. I like the idea of an inflatable kayak, much easier to store! A few more weeks before school returns and a regular schedule. Thanks for the encouragement. Take care and I look forward to reading about your adventures.

  4. Great pictures, what fun! Shouldn’t feel guilty, Clayton, about not writing. When you make it a “chore” – it becomes no fun. 10 years can feel like a million. I’ve been back in San Francisco for 16 years and so much has happened…sometimes I feel like I’m a million years old! BUT Life is good and Life goes on. Summer ’03? Heck, can’t even remember yesterday! 🙂

    1. Summers are somewhat predictable for me… the cottage is a blessing – we head to the cottage July and as the kids have gotten older – they are 5 1/2 and not quite 1 – summers have taken on a slightly different look. W is away for much of the summer with scouts and football has taken a big chunk of time. he’ll be a sophomore next year and he’s almost taller than me, though that doesn’t say much. 🙂 2003 – that was a tough summer. My brother-in-law passed away suddenly and his kids (the cousins) came to stay with us in Chicago and the cottage. I think they had a fun time, but I can honestly understand that their minds were elsewhere. As for writing, I want to write, but time gets away – easily. Thanks for the encouragement. I hope all is well in your world.

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