Summer Is for...

...devouring books during lazy quiet times in the afternoon, sometimes while tucked away in a secret hide-out

...staying up late and sleeping in the next morning (well, some of us get to sleep in)

...being outside in the cool of the evening, watching fireflies light up and little boys run around catching them

...climbing the woodpile made of the cut-up pieces of Grandpa and Grandma's huge oak tree and playing King of the Mountain

...rolling down grassy hills

...romping with a kitten

...eating popsicles in the shade of the English walnut tree in the middle of the morning

...getting sticky from head to toe, then coming inside for a bath before lunch

...waiting (im)patiently for the first tomatoes and corn-on-the-cob to ripen in the garden--and for the people who own the orchard on the next hill over to call and say "the peaches are ripe and could you come and get a few bushels?"

...remembering last summer and how big and heavy and nervous and excited I was as I spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy with Shav wondering about the answers to a few questions: boy or girl? when would labor start? how would the adjustment to four children go for me? when would life ever feel normal again?

...waking around 5:00 AM, glancing out the window to see the eastern sky just starting to lighten, listening to the symphony of the birds outside my open window, then snuggling down to go back to sleep again

...rediscovering how much I love apologetics, as I have time to read something other than schoolbooks

...organizing and cleaning my whole kitchen (I'm about halfway done!)

...putting charts from the library summer reading program on our refrigerator and seeing the spaces get colored in as both Josiah and David read books

...reminding Shav how to sleep through the night (Jeff has started helping out with this one, which is GREAT because Shav doesn't associate him with milk)

...loving the sight of little boy legs in shorts and the ease of dressing (no sweaters! no coats! no hats! no gloves!)

...noticing how much Tobin is acting like (or trying to) the big boys

...slicing lemons for fresh lemonade

...swatting flies (there always seems to be at least one buzzing around inside the house)

...potty training (in a nutshell, we're making slow but steady progress with this; I've backed off and stopped stressing about it, and let Tobin take the lead; he's not consistent, but he does ask to wear underwear and go potty, and I'm quite content with that for now)

...going to Vacation Bible School (for Josiah and David, although Tobin dearly wishes that he could go, too)

...listening to Christmas music (not a typical component of an I-love-summer list, but I listen to Christmas music all year, and I think it's particularly fun in the hot summertime to listen to it and be reminded of all the delights of the opposite season)

...drinking smoothies (my current favorites are breakfast-in-a-glass--an egg, a couple spoonfuls of orange juice concentrate, some milk, a splash of vanilla, a little sugar or stevia or honey to sweeten it, and 7 ice cubes, give or take a few--and Jeff's specialty--homemade grape juice, frozen blueberries, and frozen peaches, plus whatever else he decides to throw in)

...turning on the ceiling fan in whichever room of the house I find myself and enjoying the breeze...and only occasionally turning on the air conditioning, usually when I want to knock down the humidity (I keep the thermostat fairly high, because 80 degrees without humidity is more comfortable than 77 with!)

All of these wonderful things, and summer has only been here a few days!

What else is summer good for? I can hardly wait to find out as the next few months unfold. :)

*****

Speaking of summer...and all the seasons...

I write this blog almost entirely for myself and my family, and am occasionally surprised and amused by the fact that others find it interesting and read it, too. Although I enjoy and appreciate comments very much (what blogger doesn't?), I don't write for them...I don't fish for them...and I try not to employ gimmicks to get them. A once-a-year contest on my blogiversary is about as far as I go in that direction. I want this tiny corner of the blogosphere to be a quiet place, not a loud one. It's my home, after all.

That said, however, I'm wondering if anyone out there would like to leave a comment in response to this question: What one adjective would you use to describe each season? What word would you choose for winter? What word for spring? And so forth. In my head, I've chosen words for all of them except summer which is still a toss-up in my mind between two adjectives. I know curiosity killed the cat, but I'll admit that I'm just curious to see what words you would choose and whether you think of the same ones that I do. :)

But by all means, feel no pressure at all to do this! I'll keep writing, whether you leave a comment or not. I'll be happy, whether you leave a comment or not.

After all, it's summer! How could I not be happy?! :)