One Week

Some weeks creep by and feel like they will never end.  Some weeks fly by, and we wonder how it all happened so fast.  The rest of the weeks just feel like another week in life.  There are weeks I would like to live over, again and again and pay attention to every single detail.  Others I am glad they are behind me.  I guess this is what life is all about, but do we ever stop and think about it?  This week seemed long, but it also flew by!  How can that be?

In one week, these went from this...

to this!

I arrived at the shore in the wee hours of the morning a week ago, today.  I was a bit weary last Sunday, after too little sleep and traveling for over 12 hours.  I was a very happy camper though, because the sun was shining, and it was not 90 degrees with 80% humidity like it was back home.  After an epic night of sleep on Monday, I felt human again!  My nesting instinct was in full gear as I unpacked, and reclaimed my house after TJ lived the bachelor life in it for over a month.  Mind you, it was clean enough, but "things" were not where they were "supposed" to be, aka where I want them.  I had fun settling into my summer life.  These feelings are completely opposite the ones I will have in September when I have to tuck frantically pack everything away for the long winter.  These are feelings of hope, excitement, anticipation and overwhelming peace.  I know we will be able to enjoy all of the food, the outdoor furniture, the flowers, the new beach chairs, the bbq grill and the garden for months before we have to shut it all down for another winter. There are none of these feelings in September!  

The bright green and yellows of early summer!

This part of summer reminds me of the weeks I spent up here with the kids in early July.  We referred to these few weeks as the "women and children" weeks.  Many of us had young families then and there was no "work from home" option, so we would come up with the kids and the dads would go back home and work and come back for vacation in a few weeks.  It was a quiet, communal time when lunch happened wherever the kids just happened to be playing and dinners were very casual and easy usually consisting of something that comes in a blue and orange box made by Kraft.  Now our kids have their own kids, and while some have the luxury of spending many weeks up here with more flexible work options available...many don't.  Our early summer dinners this week were again communal but now the menu has evolved to a much more sophisticated palate.  We all enjoy these slow, easy days when we can rotate the cooking and cleaning responsibilities and have good conversations without the multitude of happenings of the busy season and the fear of missing out on something fun somewhere else.

It feels like we have had at least two seasons this week as well!  The first two days were amazing, beautiful, perfect!  The middle of the week was similar to summer in Houston...very hot, even by this southern girl's standards, and humid...but still sunny and lovely.  By the end of the week things moderated a bit and we had Canadian summer instead of Houston summer.  Today it is cool and rainy...so spring?  All good, we need the rain!  Which brings me to golf.

I played golf 3!!!, times this week.  The course is in fantastic shape and the luscious weather made the rounds very enjoyable...even if I did blow a few holes.  I do not ever remember the course being in this condition this early in the summer.  The ground that is usually still a bit mushy or soft is very hard and dry, which plays into my game well.  I need all the roll I can get!

A few other early summer observations.  This is the week we move a lot of heavy things.  Just ask my back.  Things like bbq grills, canoes, large bags of potting soil, picnic tables, planters, outdoor furniture.  They can stay where we put them for a while now!

Summer solstice 2024 sunset 9:26 p.m.

Finally, this is my favorite week for a reason other than it is my first week at the farmhouse and the shore.  It is the week of the summer solstice which means it is the week with the longest days of sunlight in the year.  This year those days were full of bright, beautiful sunshine and that is not the case every year.  I soaked it all in, just as I am pretty sure our garden and all of our flowers did.  I also hosted what is becoming a summer tradition, my annual summer solstice party.  A little get-together to toast the summer and maybe, if the clouds part at the right time, watch the latest sunset of the year.  If this summer is as good as the sunset that started it, we are in for a great one!  Cheers to summer 2024!