Summer of '22

In case I or any progeny wonder years from now what this summer was like and how it differed from others, I thought I'd document it. It was a unique summer in many ways and marked the end of a couple of eras for us. I know that there's still a month left of summer but I'm mainly referring to summer break here. Alyssa started back to school this week and the college kids start next week. 

***It was the first summer that Jacob hasn't lived at home. Babies, toddlers, teens, and kids living at home don't keep.  I wouldn't want the kids to live with us forever; at some point they have to stop living with us and for us and Jacob that point was this summer. Choosing to see the positive, I am happy that he likes where he lives, that he doesn't live too far from us, that he misses homecooked meals likes to eat out on our dime so is always up for meeting half way and dining out together, and that he is set to graduate college on time with a couple of job prospects. 

How it started:

How it's going:

***It was the first summer in over twenty years that I haven't had to drive a child or children anywhere. Granted, when Jacob and Abby were very little, they weren't in activities so the first few years of their lives I wasn't driving too much. But for about the past sixteen years or so, the years when all three kids were in activities, had playdates, camps, or just generally wanted to go somewhere, I was one who got them where they needed to go. Alyssa got her driver's license in February, so I was used to not driving her around by the time the summer rolled around but it was more evident in the summer just how not needed I was- during the school year, school occupies much of the day. But with school out, the daylight hours need to be filled with something- for Alyssa, this includes spending time with her friends and spending part of the day at the high school for cross country conditioning. Alyssa was on the go a lot this summer and she was one who got herself from point A to point B. Again, kids driving themselves everywhere is just a natural progression and I wouldn't want the kids to not be able to drive. It is proverbially what it is. It was a big change, though, this summer, to go from being a driver to not being a driver (unless I wanted to go somewhere!). 

Perhaps I misspoke when I said I had to take the kids everywhere when they were younger... if they needed to go somewhere in the cul-de- sac, they could and did drive themselves 😃

And when it was time to leave the cul-de- sac and the street (legally...) they did so.

***Abby's summer didn't entail any monumental changes. Last summer was more pivotal in that she hadn't started college yet so the beginning of college with all of its unknowns was looming. Now she has a year of college under her belt, she knows what to expect so the unknowns are much fewer. Abby worked the same place that she did last summer (Donnie's office) so her place of employment did not change this summer. One change that just occurred to me is that this summer was the first summer since she was five years old that she didn't have dance classes. Last summer, she had dance classes until her studio competed in a national dance competition in June in Nashville. June 15, 2021 was Abby's last dance performance (in the youth dance competition circuit.  I have not given up hope (despite, right now, Abby's non interest) that she will dance on stage at some point again in her life!). 

How dance started:

2009- Abby's stage debut

2011- Abby's first year of doing a solo dance on the competition team

How it ended- 2021- Abby never placed lower than 2nd place for her solos (she competed two of them) in regional competitions and she came in 1st place (out of 70 entries) last summer in Nashville at nationals. 

***This was the summer of walking. Donnie and I started walking regularly in the spring of this year when the weather was temperate for such an activity. The luxury of spending time walking together was, of course, possible because we had just one kid at home and that kid could drive herself anywhere she needed to go. This summer, we were able to walk more often due to more consistent nice weather. Abby joined us on a lot of walks. In addition to evening walks with Donnie and sometimes Abby, Abby and I walked on her days off of work in the morning (provided it wasn't too hot out by the time she woke up) to get coffee at a coffee shop that's almost two miles from our house. I also met a friend at a park once a week to walk and talk. I definitely ran less this summer than I have in years past due to *old* legs but also because I walked so much and felt like I was devoting plenty of time to exercising with all of the walking I was doing. 

I rarely looked at the steps I took during the day because rarely did my watch battery stay charged all day ;(. A few times I charged my watch during the day so it lasted through the day. So, most days I have no idea how many steps/ how many miles I moved. By and large,  I don't care or need to know the exact number of steps. If I know I've moved a lot, that's all that matters ;). 

***This was the summer of drinking vitamins. We got on the Vitamin Water drinking bandwagon after trying it at a friend's house. Donnie and I haven't taken a multi vitamin in years and one rarely drinks too much water so the combo of flavored water and vitamins was a hit for us. Bonus that the labels have these kitschy/ twee/ cutesy messages on them. They taste like very much watered down Kool-Aid but are better tasting somehow than watered down Kool-Aid.

***This was the summer of (finally!) having healthy and proficient tomato plants. The tomato, perhaps the most ubiquitous of produce in the mid- westerners garden, was an elusive vegetable (technically fruit) for me to grow in the garden in the past. What kind of gardener can't grow tomatoes? Perhaps the one who eschewed using tomato cages (until this year...) to promote and protect the growth of the plant. I bought some cages for my tomato plants and that seemed to be the difference maker. Now I have healthy tomato plants that have numerous tomatoes growing on them. I'm ecstatic and I don't even like tomatoes! I have found recipes that use tomatoes for things that I do like, for example marinara sauce and salsa. I do hope that the tomatoes ripen before the first frost, likely in October. To date, I've only picked one ripe tomato. I have about fifty five (yes, I count them 😉) green tomatoes of various sizes growing but only a couple that are nearing being ready.  

If I were to name this photo (of the one tomato from the garden that's been ripe), I would call it, "Out of the Clay." I am amazed in the best way possible every time produce comes from the garden and into the kitchen for consumption. The soil in southwest Ohio is very clay-y and I don't plant my seeds or seedlings in purchased soil so everything growing in the garden must do so out the clay-y soil. I loved how red the tomato was on the inside. I didn't try it, of course, since I don't care for tomatoes. 

Little bitty baby tomatoes. Look how tiny! Including my finger as a reference/ comparison.

My favorite tomato plant (is it weird to have favorite plants?). That's our air conditioner in the background. It is a suburban garden for sure!

Got the Nikon out for a photo shoot with my favorite tomato plant