A quick note before we get started….
Thank you for hanging in here with me as I work out how to restructure the twice weekly publishing schedule into one weekly newsletter.
I’m introducing a new feature this week called “What’s Good?”. It won’t be quite as structured (or long) as the bouquet was….but it will be just as fun!
So how can you support “Indoorsy” as we inch towards becoming the beautiful butterfly of a newsletter we were always meant to be?
Well, if you’re subscribed and reading regularly, you’re already doing it! Thank you!! This little caterpillar couldn’t do it without you!
If you’d like to go the extra mile…you can share the newsletter, and/or any individual posts you like, with friends, family and on social media. Getting the word out helps this publication grow.
Okay, on to the issue!
An Over Scheduled Summer
I got that summertime, summertime sadness
Su-su-summertime, summertime sadness
Got that summertime, summertime sadness
Oh, oh-oh, oh-ohLana Del Ray
Summer vacation didn’t start out sad. The first few days were full of hope. I had visions of long, lazy, lake days. Late mornings relaxing with a fresh cup of coffee, listening to the birds sing and watching the bunnies scamper across the lawn. Camping trips with friends. Sitting by the fire and roasting Marshmallows. Garage Saling on the weekends and riding my bike through warm, sunlit evenings.
Going wherever the wind took me.
My dreams of unscheduled days and alarm free mornings didn’t last long. The last day of school was May 18th. By the 21st, reality was bursting through my blissful summer bubble.
Blame it on the Baseball
My son surprised everyone when he joined the high school baseball team. For one, he had never played baseball before. Second, he had never given us any indication he was interested in the sport.
We went with it and we were pleasantly surprised by how much fun it was. So much fun, that when my son said he wanted to join the Little League Seniors team, I was all in. I was sad to see the high school season end and (foolishly) thought more baseball would be a fun and laid back way to start the summer.
Now, I’m a seasoned sports mom. I’ve spent years — and countless hours of my life — at wrestling tournaments, track meets, soccer/basketball/football games. I really should have known I was signing my life away.
Maybe it was the giddiness of the school year ending or maybe my brain was addled from too much rest, now that my alarm wasn’t jolting me out of bed at 6am.
Let’s call it a lapse in judgement.
I filled out the registration and handed over $115 cash in exchange for a uniform and a schedule. My heart dropped when I realized I had just committed to two practices + two to three games a week. Including away games, AKA - 15 hour days…. starting at 6am.
I had the strongest urge to run back in and snatch my paperwork back. Keep the cash! Just give me my freedom.
I took a few deep breaths and came to terms with the situation. It wouldn’t be that bad. Most games and all practices are late in the evening. No camping, but I could still wake up late most mornings and hit the lake for a few hours here and there.
Then my son got a job. A full(ish) time, five days a week job. He’s scheduled bright and early on weekdays. Oh yeah and “bring lunch!”
This kid is fifteen. He doesn’t drive yet. Which means…..the schedule we’ve been on for the last nine months, the schedule I’ve been so looking forward to breaking free from, will basically continue throughout the summer.
Remember last Sunday when I was lamenting the end of my lunch packing, early morning commutes and school routine in general? Well, I got a little ahead of myself.
I’ll still be doing all of that. But, instead of school, I’ll be taking my go getter of a son to work.
That’s why I’m sad. Seriously summertime sad(ness).
My summer has officially been hijacked.
It Is What It Is
I’m fully aware that I’m being dramatic. There are plenty of people out there that don’t get a reprieve from their schedules just because it’s summer. You know, people with jobs. Like my son.
It’s just that I wasn't prepared for this transition. Summertime, up until now, has always been a long stretch of unstructured adventure. My son and I filled our days with all kinds of fun and we did it together.
We went for bike rides and to the movies. We fired up the barbecue and hung out at the lake. I mowed the lawn and he emptied the bags. We camped, we explored, we played badminton and croquet.
I thought this summer would be more of the same, but it’s slowly dawning on me that those summers might be a thing of the past. My son is growing up fast. He’s slowly filling in his own life with his own activities. I’m not the coordinator of his fun anymore.
I get a little choked up when I realize that last year’s carefree summer may have been the last one.
There’ve already been too many lasts. The last picture book he begged me to read him at bedtime. The last time I pushed him on his beloved buoy swing. The last time he dragged me down the single track. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Then again, there are still a lot of firsts yet to come too. And let’s not forget those lasts that aren’t actually lasts. Hello lunch packing and early morning drives to Kenai.
So, like baseball, I’m going with it.
The older my son gets, the further out from under my wing he ventures. But he’s not gone yet! I’ve got about six months until he quite literally drives off into the sunset.
Until then, I’ll play chauffeur and squeeze in an adventure or two when I can. The lake will be there on the weekend. We can barbecue after work. I might have to empty my own lawn mower bags though.
Who knows what this summer has in store. What I do know, is that I won’t be taking any of it for granted.
Now for our new feature….
Welcome to “What’s Good” - a weekly roundup of timely topics and good things in general.
What the Heck is a Beach Read Anyway?
No matter how busy things get, I always find time to read. This summer will be no different. The only thing that will change are the types of books I choose. I’m taking break from mysteries and thrillers for awhile because…
It’s Beach Read season!
I kicked things off last week by reading Elin Hilderbrand’s newest novel “The Hotel Nantucket”, a book i’ve been trying to get my hands on since last summer. I was thrilled to (finally) find a copy on the shelf at my local library. I checked it out and dove right in.
After all that anticipation, I thought the book was…okay.
Expectations may have gotten the better of me with this one. After all, I spent an entire year waiting for the book to become available. It was consistently checked out or on hold since it’s release in June of 2022. A book must be amazing if people are lining up around the block to read it….right?
Elin Hilderbrand’s reputation as “The Queen of the Beach Read” didn’t help either. You would be hard pressed to find a “Best Beach Reads” list without (at least) one of her novels about summertime in Nantucket.
Honestly, I think “Hotel” did everything a Beach Read is supposed to do. According to the Macmillion dictionary, a beach read is “A book you can take on holiday, which is good enough to keep you engaged but not so serious it will spoil your holiday”.
The Michigan Daily simplifies the definition as “Guilty Pleasures”.
Whatever the case, maybe Elin’s books just aren’t my cup of tea. I won’t know until I read another one. I want to give her a fair shake. Any Elin Hilderbrand fans out there? Which one of her books should I read next? I’m thinking about reading her most popular title "Summer of '69".
So what do you think? What constitutes a beach read? Do you have a go-to author or genre for summer reading? Any suggestions at all for “engaging but not too serious” books? Let me know in the comments!
For now, I’m still on the hunt. I went to the library and got stack of books to keep me busy. I’m not sure if any of them qualify as Beach Reads, but they’ll work for now.
You win "Mom of The Year," Jenn! So impressed by how much you manage to pull off in a week. It's lovely that you and your son get on so well and enjoy each other's company. I can't remember if I recommended the books "Magpie Murders" and "Moonflower Murders" by Anthony Horowitz to you before? They are very fun murder mystery books, written as books within books. Great writing and hard to put down.
I feel your parenting pangs. I’m at the other end being an empty nester. Just know that one day you will look back on all those games and practices with huge appreciation. You will have many summers ahead where you will focus on self care.
Every book is a beach read for me. I am book picky. I read slow-- every word-- so if it doesn’t grab me by page 100 I’m done. That said, author Gil Paul has a couple of page turners-- maybe that constitutes a beach read. Women and Children First was a quick read and enjoyable. It’s historical fiction about survivors of the Titanic.