Tuesday. 31 May.

More than the passing of Memorial Day, summer starts to creep into my house when the mornings become noticeably earlier, so that – by today – it’s light in my bedroom when I awake at 5:20. By the same token, as the nights get longer, it seems just that there’s more possibility in the world: for adventure, for the unknown, for leisure. 

I’ve always loved summer. Long past the age when my own schedule was determined by the ringing of a school bell, I’ve found my way back to a world where summer is more relaxed. I get a little antsy this time of year, waiting for summer to officially begin; waiting for something to happen, in a delicious sort of way.

In the past, that’s meant getting my passport ready, but I don’t anticipate traveling much this summer. Three summers into life with Covid, that’s still something that takes some getting used to. I hope at some point, my child will be vaccinated and it’ll be safe for us to travel far, but we aren’t there yet. So in lieu of that, I’m looking forward to taking him on a roadtrip next month. Roadtrips, of course, feel like classic summer anyway.

And I’m working on the things that will help me feel like I’ve taken a summer. To that end, I’ve got a couple of writing projects happening. For the first time, I’m really diving into Jami Attenberg’s #1000wordsofsummer. I’m also taking a quick one-day online class about writing creative nonfiction, which I’ve dabbled in and which I like, though I don’t know much about it. I’d like to come out of this season with a few new stories and essays completed, ready to submit to places in the fall.

I’m toying, too, with the idea of finding an online community where I can practice French with an actual person. I have a heck of a Duolingo streak going – 630 days – but if I want my language skills to get better, I need to actually be talking to someone. As with everything in my life, being self-conscious has hindered me here, as I’ve been too worried about making mistakes to really dive into talking when in France. I need to get over that.

Anyway. As with any season, as with any time in our lives, things will happen as we imagine some of the time, and not at all how we imagine much of the time.

For now, it’s quiet this morning. Soon enough, the world will wake up. It’s almost summer, after all. There are things to do and toys to be played with and a whole world to again discover.