Holding on

How I do so love summer.  I didn't always.  The years when summer meant Scott and I were separated for months were filled with counting down the days until we were back together in lovely Central IL.  They were spent sweating my rear off on the city playgrounds and then working at Bon Ton at night.  They were spent with phone calls where we talked about nothing because all we really wanted to do was hang out with each other.  The days before Skype and cell phones and e-mail, when every mile of an 800-mile distance was acutely felt.

Now, I adore summer.  Contrary to popular opinion, it is rare that teachers have "off" over the summer.  First, it is not a paid vacation.  I am not given money for days I am not required to attend.  However, having a schedule that is a bit more flexible is nice.  And I love spending time with my own kids.  Some summers feel wonderfully long,  and others feel horribly short.  This one is somewhere in between.  We have had LOTS of time, ending the year prior to Memorial Day.  During that time, some of my friends and I have helped each other realize that the time we have is a wonderful gift.  We truly need to seize the day.

One of my pals called August 1 "July 32nd", and it stuck with me.  All day today, I kept calling it July 33rd.  A scrapbook page was calling.

I took the photo today at Fairview Pool.  It doesn't look like 100 degrees, does it?  When I printed it and went to trim it, I thought that it looked cool trimmed like a Polaroid.  So, I kept it that way and wrote the date on it like I used to write on the bottom edge of a Polaroid.  The crocheted flowers were a last minute thing.  I felt like something was needed in that space, but there was no more substantial room for words.  Then, I wrote phrases of things I was holding on to, cut them, inked the edges, and adhered.  It really did not take long at all, and I love that I have archived the things I have.  I was hesitant about a patterned paper background, but I think the Cosmo Cricket paper works the idea of summery pool days well.  Now, I can go to sleep.  Maybe.