What I Did This Summer- BFF 227

      This last summer was one of the best I can remember in recent memory.  Forget that it was hotter than the blazes of hell and absolutely refused to rain until it was time for the county fair.  It was a great summer!!  From the time my kids stepped off the bus for the last time at the opening of summer break I honestly celebrated having both of them home each and every day.  As much as I enjoy my seclusion, I realized how much I looked forward to my kid’s constant company.

       I made up my mind that we would stay busy.  Despite the lack of money we were going to have a great summer, and we did.  We visited the city and county parks.  I signed both kids up for the library’s summer reading program and we signed up for several of the programs offered.  The best was a family reading time at Wellfield Botanic Gardens.  After stories and songs, the kids and I explored with camera in hand.  I never realized how much beauty my hometown could offer until I went out and found it this summer.

       A highlight of the summer was a family trip to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo where we explored habitats from across the globe from the African Veldt to the Indonesian Rain Forest.  Our journey took us to the barrier reef of Australia and back.  Along the way we saw cool animals and rode fun rides.  The journey through the zoo was thrilling for each and every one of us and I made sure to document those precious moments with lots of pictures.

       Beginning the previous fall my daughter began working on her 4H projects that would be exhibited at this summer’s county fair.  It is little wonder that the county fair was another highlight of my summer.  My husband came home for the beginning of the fair and for the end.  We went twice celebrating my daughter’s successes and took in everything the fair had to offer including the fabulous food.  It waited to rain for the fair and we picked a day to go when the rain poured from the heavens.  Instead of hiding in one of the many barns, we raced through the downpour giggling as we splashed in the puddles.

        This last summer I became liberated.  I learned how to use the barbecue grill without burning down the yard!  Before I always waited to enjoy grilled meat until my husband came home.   Now I grill meat whenever I want to, which happens to be just about every night now because I can!!!  We enjoyed camping and sitting out watching campfires burn out.  There were many days spent floating in the swimming pool, afternoons when it was too hot to venture out when we laid about in the air conditioning, and more ice cream cones than I can count.  We ate watermelon and picked blueberries in the blistering heat and spent our days moving the sprinkler in the hope that the garden would produce something…ANYTHING!

         Last but certainly not least, another thing that made this summer so special was that the kids and I made a commitment to walk as much as possible.  We are very fortunate to live in close proximity to an elementary school, an intermediate school, and a high school.  By the end of the summer our walks took us to all three and spanned almost 6 miles in one jaunt.  We would walk stopping at each playground along the way so the kids could play.  We drank more water, exercised more, and in my opinion felt better than we ever had before.  Of course I wrote faithfully all summer and produced some of my best writings to date even stirring up the mix by finally having the balls to delve into fiction.  It was a great summer, and one I will cherish and look back on for years to come with fond memories until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.