Summer Dreamin'

I love summer.  I always have and it seems like I just always will.  I thought it was just because I liked being out of school and then because I liked having the summer off from college.  But now, five years out from graduation, I still love it just the same.  Last week I went to my hometown and spent time with my family and friends there.  It was great!  I love that I can work from wherever I am most of the time and still get out and stretch my legs a little bit.  I don't know what I'll do if I'm ever back at a desk full time again.  Thankfully, I don't have to think about that now.  Last week, on the way to Newton, my nephew and two nieces riding along with me and my two little monkeys, I had a funny thought.  As the kids were talking about how much they like our minivan, Seth said something profound.  "Do the seats all fold down in here?"  I told him that they do.  "Wow," he said, "If I had this van I could build a whole Lego city back there."  This got me to thinking about how unfortunate it is that children don't have money.  I remember that when I was a kid I had so many ideas for money that I would one day have.  I would buy a farm with Melissa and we would have all sorts of animals.  We wouldn't get married though; we would just grow old as farming sisters.  She didn't like that part of the story and so I conceded that she could bring her husband if she had to.  We are grown now and neither of us live on a farm and certainly not together.  Too bad.  Maybe one day we'll have to work this out, because it really does still sound fun.  As a little schemer, I would always think of ways to make enough money to buy things like candy or snow cones.  It seems like every summer my friends and I would come up with some way or another, selling lemonade, dewberries, collecting change from around the house, to get a little something that we wanted.  We would hustle up a few dollars and then proceed to the gas station or snow cone stand to procure that thing for which we had worked so hard.  And then, bliss.  Could you imagine what joy there would have been if we had had ten dollars, twenty dollars, fifty dollars?  Those times were saved for birthdays.  Fortunately for my weight and health, I didn't have a lot of money as a kid. My sweet tooth would have gotten the better of me and I would have squandered it all on Long Johns, root beer barrels and green apple syrup and ice. These days money goes toward electricity, diapers, shampoo. These are much less glamorous choices, but definitely more responsible.  Even though those days of dreaming "farm" or "Lego city" dreams are over, I'm still glad it's summer.  When it comes to seasons, summer is "just what I've always wanted." 

And by the way..thank you to my sweet husband for posting last week.  Great job at making the whole world cry.  lol.  I missed this guy terribly and almost didn't let him go back to work this morning.  Couldn't you just stay home and hold my hand all day instead?  Okaayyy.. :)