I had a mental list of things to do this summer. I had a closet full of clothing I planned to wear while I was doing those things. Yesterday I looked in the closet and realized, in horror, that most of those outfits are hanging there, unworn. I forgot to wear them! (At this point, I am changing my attire every two hours, for obvious reasons.)
I also didn't do all the things I planned to do.
However, I've evaluated the season, and found that Randy and I, or friends and I, or my children and I, managed to:
enjoy a week at a sunny beach.
see an outdoor play (Chicago!) at Porthouse Theatre, and take a picnic.
go downtown to Lock 3 to hear a loud band entertain thousands of Akronites.
host a family picnic, or two..........
go to at least two other family picnics.
travel overnight with my daughter.
go to Columbus for a meeting and fireworks.
go to Stan Hywet to see Richard III by the lagoon, done by a cast of near-thousands, it seemed, (although it was probably more like fifty.)
sleep on the porch during a thunderstorm, and also sleep there in the heat and cool nights.
walk around the neighborhood several times.
have multiple lunches with friends. (This did not involve playground duty or bells that ended a lunch period.)
go to Howe Meadow on three evenings to enjoy laid-back summer concerts.
go to garage sales and buy happy surprises for myself.
spend a whole day shopping with a friend.
attend a memorial service for a friend's daughter, and see dear friends who I miss.
meet a friend for an Angel ceremony one hot afternoon.
go to an afternoon movie on a hot day, all by myself, ( a first, for me.)
take my son shopping for flip-flops and out to lunch.
attend a neighbor's annual summer bash and get reacquainted with other neighbors.
attend two symphony concerts, one in a very old urban cemetery after dark. (Spooky!)
participate in the 11th anniversary of the Wineos Wine Group celebration dinner event.
host a birthday dinner for my daughter.
write a few blog entries.
go to the real-life -full-screen-in-your-face movies to see "The Help"......(.OMG. See this!)
go to a movie that was so awful I won't even mention the title. Randy also cringed through it.
have out of town guests for at least two weeks of the summer.
and visit the Akron Zoo not once, but THREE times!
.............and it ain't over yet, folks! We are sucking the marrow out of every single moment of this wonderful summer...............not missing a beat. Notice the words "go" and "attend" in those amusements of this fleeting season. They didn't just come to us: We had to GO.
Next year at this time, I will, hopefully, be officially retired....................the pressure to use my time so wisely will be off................and as I contemplate this, I can't help but wonder..............
What if I were to become complacent about having time, to the point that I didn't make the most of it???
That is a frightening thought for one who is about to embark on nearly total freedom.
We have made the most out of every single day of this summer, just as we almost always have done. We know how quickly a summer passes. We value the chance to DO THINGS and GO PLACES! We do NOT want to lose that zest for living each day to the fullest that we have enjoyed, (and reclaimed in recent years.)
I had said I would watch The Today Show to the end each day. I didn't. I said I would sit and drink coffee on the porch as I read the paper every morning. I didn't. There was too much going on outside of my home. Our city has a plethora of events, many free, that can keep a person on the move almost every evening. I am thankful for parks, musical events, walkways, and a national park two miles from our home. We've used them!
In nine months, We'll be free to choose the day's activity every day! We can go or not go. I don't want those events to be like this year's unworn clothing, forgotten and neglected. Next summer, and the next, there will be the same delightful opportunities right here in our city. We need to be there!
"Let the wild rumpus start!"*
I've already bought my calendar.
* Maurice Sendak, in Where the Wild Things Are
copyright: KP Gillenwater
