Isn’t summer supposed to be lazy? Slow, relaxing, full of lemonade and good books and camping?
Apparently not.
This summer offers up driving and not sleeping enough and everything breaking–holy carp, everything I lay a hand on or live beneath or even think about breaks this summer. The plus side to it: I secretly enjoy broken things that prevent me from being able to use my computer to connect with the outside world from home. Only that lack of connections puts a damper on things like, oh, blog posts, for example.
How am I managing this post? The library, of course. I’ve been touring local libraries, depending on where life takes me. This one has plugs built in to the tables, which is brilliant if you have a sad little netbook battery that no longer wants to hold a charge (see–everything breaks). It has very high ceilings, and portraits of dour white people, and never as many patrons as I think it should. This morning, it is quiet, and in a moment I’ll be getting back to work.
The other thing about this summer? The wilds have come to call on us. Moose in the pond. Bear trying to strike up a conversation during dog walks. A lone hummingbird diligently milking the flowers outside the bedroom window. I suspect they have meetings in the early morning where they discuss the situation on our road. “Truth is,” the moose might say, “There’s a lot of breakage going on there. I can see it through the windows. I think it’s safe to move in closer.”
Another thing? My thyroid is not trying to kill me. That’s always a good thing.
The last thing? Throughout the spring and summer I agonize over turtles. They cross the highway everywhere around here, and they are killed in catastrophic numbers. I was driving a few weeks ago with too many fast cars behind me, and a very big truck coming toward me, and a turtle making a break for the other side of the road. I couldn’t stop to get it; I never would have made it in front of the truck. I was heartbroken about it, and dreaded turning back and finding the aftermath.
There was none. The turtle made it. The truck must have stopped, and the stopped truck must have made others stop, and this one time the turtle made it. I felt like the Doctor in the episode where he jumps wildly about after managing to save everyone from a medical accident and shouts “Everyone lives! Just this once, everyone lives!”
I hope your summer is going well.
July 28, 2014 at 4:34 pm
Jen – some great news in here! I’m so happy for you! Quick note: in 1993 or 1994 (or so…), my wife, daughter and I were driving through Nebraska when I suddenly pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped. Julie, my wife, said, “What are you doing?!” I told Sarah to come with me and we hopped out of the car to help a turtle cross the road a “little” more rapidly. When I sent this blog extract to Sarah this morning, she wrote back and said, “Tommy’s cousin made it!! Whoop! Whoop!” Yes, we named him, even though we only got to hang out with him for like 60 seconds…loved this post.
Good luck with your work…and the breakage thing? Well, this too shall pass methinks. Have a good week!