My last blog entry from Germany and our wonderful summer at home are like dreams floating about. Fresh picked corn, lettuce, tomatoes, and raspberries linger in my memory. Thoughts of walking in the woods, swimming at School Street, conversations with friends, and schedule-less days are incredibly pleasant to recall.
On one of our plane rides, we added up a few of the numbers: We slept in eleven different beds in five states. We rented or borrowed five cars and drove over two thousand miles. Between June 16 and August 22, we flew ten times on four airlines. We watched the Olympics for sixteen straight days.
The sun shone every day in July, except for Steve and Maria's wedding, which was lovely nonetheless. We watched the Murphy kids waterski and swim. We ate extremely well wherever we went. We celebrated our birthdays, our ninth anniversary, the company of others and the most perfect summer.
While on the one hand it was difficult coming back, it is also refreshing to be back in our own place. With the dust swirling around outside at midnight temperatures of 100 degrees, our apartment was a familiar haven. Clean and cool, food in the cupboard, a comfortable bed helped to settle us.
We have met some of the new teachers and are reconnecting with friends. Russ rejoined his gym today and I will do the same tomorrow. We've been to our favorite grocery store, the mall and the hardware store (Russ has outlines his projects for the fall including laying down wood flooring in the living room, venting the dryer, and caulking the window frames). It feels good being here, remarkably more than last year. A comfort zone of sorts.
I am working in the Guidance office and the few days already have gone by much too quickly. Unprecedented numbers of new students and residual issues from last year. School starts one week from tomorrow, ready or not. But feeling mostly ready.
