Summer Fun

Although the calendar may disagree, summer officially began in our house on Monday. You see, for us, summer begins when the kids are out of school, when we no longer have to rush them through breakfast and the morning's standard grooming protocol, when we aren't stressed about missing that dratted bus that never seems to arrive at the end of our driveway at the exact same moment every day.  Yes, for us, it's the absence of school-related stress that is the true indicator that summer has arrived. 

Our first weekend of the summer started out with a baseball tournament.  Gage and his cousin, Keagan, are playing for the 10U travel team this year.  They've already had several games, even a double-header or two during the middle of the school week. However, it just so happened our first tournament of the season wasn't until this last weekend.

They did okay.  Lost the first two games on Saturday, but came to the fields with a little extra something on Sunday to pull off a win.  Afterward, the team got together for a cook-out and some poolside fun.

 

We won't mention how the following Wednesday games went.  We're just going to move along and avert our eyes.  Although, seriously, how cool for my nephew to finally get his chance to pitch during a game...and for my boy to play second base?  Shhh.  We're not talking about it, remember?

The other child is around here somewhere, too.  No sports-related pictures to post, though.  He doesn't play little league baseball like his brother, not after that fateful summer when he was nailed a time or two by a wild pitch. If you'd like, though, I could scrounge up a picture of him playing video games or shooting hoops in front of the house. 

Just so you don't think my entire life is consumed with my children's sports schedules, I would also like to mention that I'm doing my thing, too.  You know my thing.  Reading.  Writing.  Playing video games. 

Okay, for the most part - so far - this summer, it's been reading. Right now I'm working my way through The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  I don't know what possessed me to read this, but I'm glad I picked it up.  It's not something I'd want to read all the time, but I'm fascinated by the legends. (For those who have read it, I'm midway through the Son of the Evening Star section.)

In addition to Hiawatha's tales of adventure, I'm also reading Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. 

Again. 

This time, instead of reading it for class, I'm reading and discussing it with a woman from Kazakhstan.  We first were introduced to each other through one of my graduate courses.  After the class ended, she contacted our instructor asking if she knew of anyone who might be interested in continuing the reading group.  Of course, I jumped at the chance. 

So there's that. 

I guess the only other thing left to mention is the work I've been doing on transcribing my great-grandparents' letters, stories, and poetry.  I'm almost done with one of the spiral-bound, type-written volumes they put together before their deaths.  I can't tell you how amazed I am each time I sit down to type.