Ah, the words of Bruce Springsteen and one of my top 3 fave songs of his... Girls in Their Summer Clothes...
I sit in my summer clothes, in the cool of the evening out on the deck. Dark now and the smell of the passing rain offers up what is an amazing and deep sensory reward for the inconvenience of running indoors a few moments ago. That beautiful scent of rainfall on the grass in summer and the downpour hitting the cement patio offers up one of those fragrant moments we dream of and crave in the winter. And then there is the symphony of summer sounds...the choir of frogs and crickets in the surrounding woods that in their collective serenade bring the evening to a height of summer sensation. I could not be more blessed it feels like. And though I cannot see them in the dark, the immense beauty of the flowers in the containers and the plants in the landscaped areas I created years ago call to me without the necessity of a visual connection.
The hubs is inside puttering with something and the pups wander the yard in the dark. My 3 angels who have been my greatest joy in some deeply personal passages this summer. I have no idea how I got so lucky to have this thoughtful, kind, generous and fun-loving man for my life partner. Maybe it was all of the frogs I kissed before him let me know how to recognize the prince. One of my bridesmaids/besties put it more bluntly when the hubs and I first started dating..."girl, you are an asshole magnet! If they are in Cook or the collar counties they find you. He's normal and he's wonderful, you'll marry this one!" She was right and 26+ years into marriage, I love him more than the day we walked down the aisle.
I was sitting here thinking of this summer and how blessed we are on so many levels. Friends Steve and Paula were in town from Green Bay for a family event, and we went for pizza and beer one warm Saturday night and the restaurant actually closed with us still sitting on the patio laughing and talking. We were still talking the next day about how much fun it was. Such great people AND rowing pals to boot!
We've had a neighbor friend who is a contractor remodeling two bathrooms in the house and having him around has been a blessing not only in getting the two most ugly bathrooms in history updated, witnessing his seemingly limitless creativity has been amazing. I came home from surgery to find he had done our medicine cabinet over in bathroom #1 in the most beautiful creation I could have asked for as a surprise for me. And it is something I never could have imagined (I was going to paint the old shuttered one white...) It will feel empty soon when bathroom #2 is done and he is not coming through the door every morning.
I have taken the video account craze/necessity during pandemic into my personal space to reach out to a friend in California in the same profession and reconnecting has been wonderful. I met Mike probably close to 20 years ago at a national conference and we'd see each other in passing each year at the conference or share an email here and there. The video connection now is always an assortment of discussions on a wide variety of topics but it has also reminded me that he is not only a great friend but mentor in sharing his expertise and experiences to enrich me personally and professionally.
Likewise with the video connection, I have reconnected just last week with an old boss that was so wonderful to work for. He too is someone that, whether he realizes it or not, is still a great mentor and has contributed so much to my life in so many ways. And as the years rolled by for each of us after I moved on from that job, he has become a very dear friend whose connection I treasure.
What a great birthday I had this summer as well! Not a landmark one with over-the-top frivolity, but the hubs and I took off and he checked us into a hotel that was a bucket list destination for me. We went to old haunts and had cheeseburgers and beers, went to a ballgame at my favorite/home ballpark and he surprised me with birthday love on the scoreboard. We immersed ourselves in the Van Gogh exhibit, ate at a beautiful sidewalk cafe spot, shared a bottle of crisp white sauvignon blanc at another sidewalk location and walked the waterfront with coffee in hand after breakfast. No worries, no pressures, nothing but unbridled joy in each moment. It was heaven in 72 hours!
Rowing this summer is nothing short of spectacular. After a fellow rower found the PERFECT spot just north of us on the river, a group of us racked our boats in the location she found and it is a little piece of paradise. The water is beautiful, most times pure glass. I cannot take a dozen strokes without stopping to look at the eagles flying overhead looking to the river for breakfast. They often drop their catch on the shore near the boat racks and land to pick it apart, enjoying every morsel. The fish jump over the stern in front of me, the swallows fly in and out of the little hidey-holes they nest in, and the only thing to worry about is the random pleasure craft approaching and creating rollers from their wake. Where the racks are at the waterfront is immersed in wildflowers that fashion a palette of color of red, yellow and purple hues. A creature who has yet to divulge his identity leaves mussel shells on the shore from his nocturnal feast. I recently told someone asking about my summer rowing adventures that this location was perfect for me/us because I am not an athlete, I am a cruise director, I row taking in every breath, every moment as the joy it presents.
And as I sit here post rainfall in the morning sun finishing my prose, the scene is even more blissful. Incredible weather has blessed us this morning after a very hot, very dry summer. The end of the week now and the end of a long several weeks on a work project, I sit in my robe with my coffee, the hubs is talking to the guy who will install the shower glass and the pups are laying in the sun next to me on the deck. The vibrant colors of the summer flowers positively glow in the sunlight on the patio. The breeze caresses us gently as we (pups and I) sit on the deck and it is inviting me to sit back in my chair and close my eyes and take it in, even if for a brief moment.
In what is seemingly the blink of an eye, we will be gazing at the back wondering how much snow we got, if we want a fire in the fireplace and what cocktail we want to toast the end of the week/start of the weekend. So right here, right now, I am taking the time to give thanks and offer my gratitude for the summer and its love. Every moment is my joyous blessing.
And since I'm still in my robe, guess I better put on Bruce and get into those summer clothes...
