July 29, 2006
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Summertime Limbo
Summer’s time is syrup. Hours ooze and glop, filtered through humidity and leaf shadows splashed slap-dash on the sidewalk. Popsicles and blueberries dance between minutes; gagging down a proper meal fills an eternity. Respite from amber-trapped moments come from tall, sweating glasses of ice water sipped and held delicately to your wrists, your neck, the insides of your elbows.
Days saunter, weekdays marked only by the absence of beach bumming and the 8-hours of air-conditioning at work. Notions of employee dress code are forgotten and crises are dropped carelessly, guiltlessly at 5 pm—that we ever worked late before seems laughable. Unleashed from the office, we gallop to the bike rack, kids again. Us again.
One bike ride blurs into the next, one morning run all runs, a never-ending game of Frisbee. Life on rollerblades. Entire days spent in a bikini with a battered, sandy paperback book, interrupted only by sunscreen applications and cool-down swims. Beautiful, effortless sandal tans.
I am having fun this summer. My pulse has slowed and my muscles are loose, loping in these long languid days. It’s hard to wrap my head around the cold, hard fact that change is coming. Change is nearly here.
Monday we got our visas. Wednesday I broke the news to my writers group. Thursday I gave my resignation notice at work. Doctor’s check-ups and Vet visits have been crossed off the list. Place tickets are booked. The U-haul is reserved for us to ship and store our stuff in Michigan. Packing has commenced. Bittersweet toasts with Chicago friends and co-workers have begun. We are leaving Chicago August 31. We are moving to Scotland.
And yet, I still can’t quite believe it. It’s hard in summer to think past the five-day weather report, to see anything beyond the gurgling white surf of the lake humming sweetly between my toes. Without the mandates of my to-do list, I would be driftwood, I would be lost.
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What time of year are you hopelessly in the moment?::Random Tangent::
The company I sometimes teach essay writing workshops through hired me as a freelance essay grader this summer. I got my first packet to grade this week and reading the essays makes my heart sing. Some are laugh-out-loud funny with syntax errors that change the meaning of a phrase, typical of most high school writers. But others are just incredibly written. I just finished one from a girl who describes her first day in a U.S. classroom after her family moved to D.C. from Nigeria. Amazing stuff.
Comments (7)
I try to the be in the moment in summer, but sometimes there are so many distractions and potential obligations (aka weddings) tugging at me that it infuses additional stress. So autumn remains my favorite time of year. The weather is tempting, yet not overly so. The pre-holiday stress has not yet reared its ugly head. All manner of pleasing fashions compete for attention in my wardrobe selections. The leaves turn their exciting palettes of color. Long walks are possible without feeling too warm, and instead of mud or large puddles, there are leaves making a familiar crunch under my feet. I am reminded of my first days of freedom in college, when everything seems not only possible, but probable. Already looking forward to it.
A little summer on my pancakes, please.
Hi. I’m just stopping by to invite you to become a member of The SSS Forum on writing. The forum is free, informal, and friendly. The forum is on my website, Sullivan’s Short Stories (SSS) As a member you can 1.) Discuss writing on the forum. 2.) Comment on posted stories 3.) Have your own stories or poetry posted on SSS (as long as it meets the guidelines)4.) Discuss anything in an open topic forum. There is an appreciable number of readers from just about every part of the world..
On SSS you’ll also find lots of info on writing such as advice and writing tips, interesting facts on writing, and links to other interesting sites.
I keep an informal atmosphere. There are no requirements on critiquing, commenting, or posting stories–it’s on an as-you-like basis. I do require that there be no flaming or excessive profanity.
It’s easy to join. Just go to Sullivan’s Short Stories, then go to “The SSS Forum,” register, and you’re in. Takes only a minute or two.
Donald Sullivan
I hope for your move to feel effortless so that you can enjoy it. Moving to a new place should be an exciting time and so many times the experience just ends up being drown in cardboard boxes.
Halloween time, late October, is good for being in the moment. So many pungent smells and glowing colors and the best being, no sweat!
Wonderful description. Everything seems to be running smoothly and good for you! This has got ot be one exciting time. Glad your in your season to enjoy it.
And the essays! It’s summer and I don’t have 125 to grade, so I can say this only now: I’m a little envious. Have fun with them.
I agree with Tim about the fall. It is a time of innate energy for me and I don’t know why for sure. Its smells and colors keep my senses stimulated. And it seems like there is always some little victory on the horizon. That is the time of poetry for me, not spring.
I’m writing this in the middle of a thunderstorm, which we so desperately need.
I wish I was having fun and relaxing this summer, but a spate of migraines has been ruining everything. I go to the doctor this week to find out why his last treatment didn’t work! Last night I was in so much pain I started crying. No way to spend a leisurely summer.
And I’m sad that July is almost over. August gets me blue because it means summer is coming to an end and allergies are going to get really fierce. We have a vacation around Labor Day, but somehow that doesn’t make it better. Color me melancholy this summer.
My favorite summer moments are writing in the backyard, feet up on the picnic table, drinking an ice tea and thinking the weather will last forever.
I will shoot you e-mail.
Lynn
Well, well! Congratulations on getting things all wrapped up! Have I already mentioned that visitamanda is also going to Scotland soon? I think she’s heading there in September. She’s a writer, too… you should leave her a comment, who knows, maybe you’re going to the same city?
Last week it felt like summer (what with it being in the 100s and all) and then today it was in the low 60s and I started to yearn for fall. Not that I want it to be fall, but I suddenly got that rush of excitement that comes when you pull out your hat and sweaters for the first time in six months and realize that change is exactly what you needed. But I’m sure it’ll shoot back up into the 80s in no time.
PS, just noticed your “currently watching” choice (great movie, btw) and it struck me as being particularly funny that they’ve listed so much of the cast—usually Xangazon movies only list one or two people involved. It’s not exactly like there were 25 main characters in the Graduate… do you think Elisabeth Fraser was an extra?