Reports of my blog atrophying into internet nothingness are incorrect. I’d blame August sloth but this started in July…so I’ll just say summer brain.
The writing fairy is still awol, and putting one word after another feels like jogging –something I do not do. However, as a writer, I’m into trying to push myself beyond how I feel, so I will make an attempt to get to 10,000 steps each day going forward, and 500 words. Ugh, I’ve done less than one hundred.
I should have tons to write. Today I take my daughter to try for her learners’ permit. I’ve spent the past three weeks trying to get training hours in for the two older ones. My hair (what little there is), would be white if it weren’t already –not because they’re bad drivers but because I worry about everyone on the road and imaginary breaks don’t work. Neither does sucking in and holding your breath shrink the car. I’ve never done any of these things you understand, but as a public service, I’m letting you know, these things don’t work.
We’ve had thunderstorms that have meant my oldest is playing the role of Paul Bunyan every morning to take down the dead trees. I am praying I make it through the summer without a trip to the emergency room. We play Oregon Trail the card game, and I’m thinking, impairments from using sharp tools on a consistent basis probably should be a card.
My second oldest son wants to create a fence to keep our turtles in the back yard. Contrary to popular belief, turtles are adept climbers. That hoary chestnut about finding a turtle on a fence post being like finding an incompetent politician where the only thing one knows for certain is, they didn’t get to that position on their own…it’s a lie. These damn things rip apart happy turtle display logs designed to let them bask. They scale the tubing used for filtering their water and destroy it in the process. They plummet from the top of the tank if they manage to find a big enough opening. I’m fairly certain, no matter how high the all my so proposes to construct, they will destroy it and escape.
My third son is packing for college. Yesterday, the first words out of his mouth to me were in the evening as he did the dishes. It was a giant belch. We cracked up. Thank God for the stupid things our bodies sometimes do. It can even break the silence of a teen. I’ll miss this young man, eighteen years wet by too fast.
This weekend, we did something we’ve never done. We’ve lived in Maryland since 1995, but not gone to Ocean City. We had an absolute blast and I won at mini-golf. We will return. I do know why we haven’t gone. That bridge over the Chesapeake Bay is a white knuckle journey of terror even if I’m not the one driving. I would not be able to handle this if it were raining or dark or snowy. No way. I’d get a hotel and wait until spring.
Today, we’re all back home safe and sound, sandy and happy, and the kids want to go again. They may need to make sure I’m asleep the next time we go over that thing.
I will write a full article tomorrow, but today, I’m happy that I made it over five hundred words after a long writing hiatus.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In