Summer Days

You might have noticed that I haven’t written a post lately. This has been due, in large part, to the fact that I’m steadily (frantically?) working on a manuscript that’s due in six weeks. Like any good writer, I’ve successfully managed to make my work expand to fit precisely the amount of time I have to do it. It’s a gift really.

The second thing that has kept me busy is summer vacation. Two weeks ago my kids embarked on those “104 days of summer vacation” and we’ve been relishing every minute of them. Minor league baseball, visits to the art museum, a weekend at the lake, and books and books and books for the reading program at the library—all accompanied by extra snacks and ice pops. Even when the weather has been less than cooperative—as it has routinely been this rainy June—they’ve learned the joy of splashing in puddles and when all else fails, of a Star Wars or Narnia marathon. Also, today just happens to be the birthday of a little blue-eyed boy who owns a piece of my heart and can make me melt with his ever-so slightly crooked smile. In preparation, I’ve been busy making, per his request, “a dragon cake.” After all, you only turn seven once.

Speaking of summer, you’ll love this fantastic piece by fellow-blogger, Jen Wilkin, about taking time to savor these heady days and embrace rest as a gift from God’s hand.

But while you’re resting, don’t miss the latest scientific breakthroughs like this one, the Periodic Table of Muppets.

And be certain to rest in appropriate places or you could end up like this German banker who transferred 222,222,222.22 euros when he briefly nodded off at his desk.

But above all, enjoy these summer days. And while you do, I’ll be enjoying them too—and maybe occasionally finding time to write a new post now and again. But until then, and in honor of my upcoming two-year anniversary of blogging (a.k.a—shock and awe at the fact that I’ve actually stuck at something this long), I’ll be re-posting some of my favorite pieces from the past. Here’s the one that got all this craziness started in the first place.