Summer in the Suburbs

Because I am garbage at descriptions, I googled “famous quotes about summer.” This was a mistake as I now have a full page of mostly Byron quotes that I want to somehow incorporate into a single blog post about how I’m feeling, which is sentimental. And no one needs that. I am currently reading a book by Leon Someone Podles whose sentimentality regarding a masculinity that involves obligatory bloodshed and initiation rites, I renounce all writing to the odious tune of sentiment.

But, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge says, “Summer has set in with its usual severity” and I couldn’t be more joyful about it. I am living The Summer of George (so to speak), which goes something like this:

       ·         Waking up before 7 (I’m the lazy one of the family; Gracie and my mom are up by five) to do my morning Bible study which includes prayers written by Karl Barth and memorizing Job 38. (33 verses down, 9 to go!)

       ·        Working out twice a day—once in the morning for cardio (running) and once in the evening for strength (yoga). My body is both delighted and displeased to be taxed this way again.

       ·        Going to a drawing class from 3-5. Because either the adult class requires an AARP card or because I still look like a fifteen-year-old, I was signed up for the kids class. It is way too much fun and a great reminder to sign up for the random things that pop into your life. More on this one later.

       ·        Reading, writing and studying.

Maybe the vast majority of you don’t rhapsodize about unlimited time to sit quietly on the porch in the shade surrounded by trees and grass with a nice cup of cool-aid in front of you, but for me, it is the essence of idyllic. About an hour on Greek, an hour-ish on an academic book, two hours or so of writing, and whatever rabbit trails pop up (did you know that the Biblical canon was not formally decided upon until the sixteenth century? After the Protestant Reformation! According to Wikipedia. I’ve got more research to do).

 Occasionally I’ll take a break and watch The Big Bang Theory with mom. Dad and I watched Band of Brothers earlier and I’ve indulged in way too much X-Men to be healthy. Sometimes, when Gracie feels like it, we snuggle. Most days I eat a McDonald’s ice cream cone. Summer in the suburbs is marvelous.