"It is very beautiful here, if one only has an open and simple eye, without any beams in it. But if one has that, it is beautiful everywhere." ~ Vincent Van Gogh
I turned the calendar to August this morning, as I'm sure many of you did. Although summer officially ends in late September, our household still revolves around the school year and so summer ends unofficially a few days after Labor Day when school begins. This gives us one more month of summer... one more month to squeeze in all of those things we wanted to do this summer but haven't yet. My children have long lists of places they want to go and things they want to do, and I'd rather spend a summer without plans. I'd rather linger in the garden, go to the beach when perfect beach weather arrives on soft blue skies, and eat meals that aren't thought out, but just picked fresh and eaten. I try to compromise between their wish for adventure and activity, and mine for serenity and languor.
I did, sort of idly, hope to clean the basement thoroughly. I wondered if I would find time to reorganize the laundry room this summer. I toyed with the idea of repainting a couple of rooms in the house. But, instead, I have chauffeured my family to festivals and water parks, taken a sick kitty (better now!) to the vet, said goodbye to my Turkish daughter, and sewn several medieval style dresses for my oldest daughter (not necessarily in that order.) If you read this blog very often, you know that I have somehow managed to spend time in the garden, taken photographs (my current form of creative expression), and found serenity in the quiet spaces between the frequent demands of modern family life.
However you fill your summer hours, I wish you joy!
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photo by Aisling, August 1, 2008 - Along our roadside
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