Summer 2015: days 92-108

Two weeks. No blogging. Ugh.

The boys are back in school, and the routine I sought is just about set. But it's been a tiring two weeks. Work has seemed to drain all my creative energy and has been souring my mood. I feel like I gained back 10 of the 25 pounds I lost in the spring. I see things around the house that need to be done, yet I can't quite find the wherewithal to work on them. That goal to hit the waterpark one more time before summer ended felt like too much of a chore. Fantasy football drafts are in full swing, yet I've had no time to do my usual preparations. I've been taking my laptop to Ben's baseball games to work.


It's an end-of-summer blah, one that I think I need the end of summer, at least by my calendar, to cure. The NFL season starts Thursday, and when it does, I close the curtain on Summer 2015. I'm in no rush for the weather to cool, but I'm ready for a little change of mood.

The last two weeks haven't been terrible, just weary. Some of the highlights:

  • We took the boys to Golden Spike National Historic Site in northern Utah this past Saturday, then went to the Great Salt Lake to see the Spiral Jetty. The lake is so low right now, you can walk out a half mile across the salt-encrusted bed before you get to the water. The scene was so surreal; it definitely was matching my recent mood.
  • Yesterday, we took the boys golfing at Mick Riley's par-3 course. Both of them did well, though we we were liberal on their scores. I shot a 40, including a birdie on the No. 9 that I chipped in.
  • Ben played three baseball games, and his team won twice. He doesn't have a hit yet but is having fun.
  • Michael had his tryout for his club basketball team; he is hoping to land a spot on the select team -- we will find out this week.
  • I'm back in co-op mode at the boys' school. Soccer is starting up as well for Ben, and I'm back as coach.
There must be more, but nothing is readily coming to mind. Yeah, my mood is sour, as distant as the salty lake bed in the hot sun. I'm hoping the short week turns my outlook around.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summer, Day 8

Today was Memorial Day, and as far as Memorial Days go, this one seemed somewhat anticlimactic. The sun came out after three less-than-stellar days, perhaps preventing the weekend from being a total bust. I worked late last night but was awake earlier than I wanted to be this morning. I fell back asleep and woke up around 10:30 to a thumping sound outside. Michael, Lori and my father-in-law got the rest of the sand in the base of the new basketball hoop, and Michael and his friend from across the street were shooting around. This was Lori's parents' last day in Utah, so we treated them to The Cheesecake Factory at the new City Creek mall downtown. I had the macaroni and cheese burger and most of a piece of Oreo cheesecake (no matter how much I pushed on my sons -- they wanted to share Lori's banana cream cheesecake). The boys and I wandered City Creek a little and came home. The afternoon wasn't much more eventful. Michael and I took Popcorn to the park for about
Read more

Vacation finale

Image
As expected, the last three days of vacation were much less eventful than the first 12. This happens every year -- we get back from Wisconsin for at least one day before leaving for Utah, and it's just wind-down time. And that's OK -- going nonstop for two weeks isn't easy, especially with kids. And vacation is supposed to be a time to relax, and for the past three days, that's what we did. The past few days weren't that relaxing, however. Monday, we met my mom, who is in Chicago this week, for lunch and then to Old Orchard Mall. That night, we met some friends at the new Superdawg (my favorite Chicago hot dog restaurant) in Wheeling. Tuesday, after pondering going downtown, we ended up just seeing the Smurfs movie with my dad. Last night, we went to dinner at a nice little Italian restaurant here in Edgebrook. Wednesday was mostly devoted to getting ready for our return trip Thursday morning. The heat and thunderstorms finally subsided -- this might have been the m
Read more

Nine days after the solstice

Image
The summer solstice was nine days ago, but I'm only now getting around to writing my annual reflection that is supposed to be created on the first day of summer. Nine days ago, I was frenetically trying to finish up work and get ready for a road trip to Denver, where Benji was competing in a swim meet. We got back Monday afternoon, but I was too exhausted to come up to my usual spot in Donner Park. The last three nights were overcast (though the skies cleared a little too late to embark on my quest last night), spoiling the goal of watching the sunset. So, nine days later, I'm finally here. And now that I am, I'm not totally sure what to write about. To say the last year has been a blur would be cliche, and I don't think it's gone faster than any other past year. But I've been struggling to wrap my head around the current summer and, thus, what's really on my mind. I could write about how we're a year away of having two kids in college and being sort of
Read more