Some Things I’m Looking Forward to This Summer

Although lots of people have been in summer mode for weeks, this week has been our first week of summer break. Here are some things I’m looking forward to:

• The Banana and Mr. TOF should be arriving any minute back from their choir tour to Montreal. It was a pure craziness and stress figuring out a passport situation to get them there (it’s a bit long story, but the short of it is that we only had passport cards instead of the passport books that they needed because the passport agency is super crazy behind right now), but in the end they were able to drive across the border with one of the choir directors and meet their group in Montreal. I can’t wait to hear all about their adventures. I’ve been getting little clips and snippets of pictures bit by bit all week.
• I’m looking forward to long walks without ice and snow on the streets, sidewalks and trails.
• I’m already enjoying blooming and growing things, although it has been dry, dry, dry, and I feel like the vegetation is about to suffer. I’m looking forward to watching all the flowers grow that I potted in containers, and I’m especially excited about some special zinnia seeds that I ordered last winter. The baby zinnias are up and flourishing in their containers in the front of the house. I haven’t had flowers by the front steps for years, but this year I placed a few containers over there because our big Juniper bushes fell down in one of the massive snowstorms this last winter and the front door looks pretty desolate.
• I’m excited that Camp Aunt Rachel is back this summer, and I will get to spend time with some of my nieces and nephews one on one.
• After a year away from cello lessons because of Peanut Maximus, I am going to start summer lessons next week. Hooray! I have so many questions for my cello teacher. I have been playing the cello throughout the year, and especially in the past few months now that Peanut Maximus has a more regular bedtime, and I’m really looking forward to getting some help with some things that I’m not understanding.
• I appreciate our more flexible summer schedule with more time to actually accomplish the things that need to get done, and more pathways to finish things.
• I am excited for The Banana to row again. She starts next week, and it is one of her favorite activities.
• I am so happy that the big conflicts for Mr. TOF’s baseball schedule are behind us. Figuring out how to get him to baseball with all of the other end of the year school activities literally made me cry.
• I have an ENORMOUS stack of books to read. I know I won’t get through many because I need to take care of Peanut Maximus, but I am looking forward to sneaking in a few books whenever I can.
• I am excited that The Banana is going to International Music Camp for orchestra week, although admittedly, I’m less excited about the driving to get her there and back.
• In just a couple of weeks I will be starting back teaching music at a preschool I’ve been visiting every Thursday morning for the past several years. I took a year off because of Peanut Maximus, and I’m looking forward to the chaos and wonder of singing and playing instruments with creative little people again.