Hooray for Summer

Summer is officially here (though you'd never know it by the weather). The last of the homework has been turned in, the kids are out of school and our routine is out the window. Still, there are things that I am looking forward to over the next eleven weeks (and how is it that eleven weeks sounds both incredibly short and impossibly long?)

I'm looking forward to our upcoming visit with my-out-of state family and friends (though I am not looking forward to my husband's high school reunion: at his last reunion I compensated for the fact that I knew no one by taking advantage of the open bar. My only memory is of hoovering five or six mini crème brulees from the dessert table...10 years is just not enough time to erase that first impression).

I'm looking forward to taking my kids to the beach. They're finally at an age where they can swim and surf without my constant, hawk like gaze upon them. I might even bring a book with me (or maybe just a magazine. I wouldn't want to push my luck) I'm not looking forward to the inevitable sunburn my children will get despite the long shorts, surf shirts and gallons of sunscreen I pour on them. I'm also not looking forward to seventy pounds of beach sand in my van over the course of the summer, but hey, motherhood’s a sacrifice.

I'm especially looking forward to visiting my friends with the beach house. Friends who have beach houses are right up there with friends with pools. They can make or break your summer. Top of the list are friends with pools and a beach house.

I'm looking forward to our annual trip to Canobie Lake Park. This is a great place for our kids because it allows me to gauge just when they are ready for our first trip to Disney. If they can't go on the big roller coasters, then I can't bring myself to spend thousands of dollars for a week in the Magic Kingdom. Last summer my older son finally went on the corkscrew coaster with me, so we're making progress

I'm also looking forward to the water park at Canobie Lake, Castaway Island. It's comforting to know that no matter how hot the day; the frigid cold water that gushes from every direction will still shock you into a heart attack. And though I'm the first to admit that I'm out of shape, going to any water park makes me feel like a supermodel. No matter how I look, there will always be someone who looks worse, and that person is usually wearing a string bikini. I walk out of that place feeling like a goddess.

I'm looking forward to those evenings when I surprise my kids by taking them out to JC's or The Dairy Twist for an ice cream. As the sun sets and the moths begin beating themselves against the neon lights, we debate the merits of soft serve versus hard, jimmies versus chocolate dip. These are our biggest decisions of the day.

I'm looking forward to eating dinner out on our deck, listening to our neighbors play in their yards, the smell of their grills as they cook burgers. I'm looking forward to catching fireflies and watching for shooting stars during the Perseid meteor showers in August. I'm looking forward to drinking a Mike's Hard Lime in the evenings as my kids tell me about what they've been up to in camp that day.
I'm looking forward to meeting friends at the YMCA outdoor pool and having Papa Gino’s deliver right to my picnic table (I am not looking forward to that sudden whistle blow that means we have to evacuate the pool immediately...sometimes its because of thunder and other times its because of a foreign object floating in the water.)

And just when I think I cannot take another perfect summer day, I'll be looking forward to school starting again.