Summer 2024: Days 5-17

The last two weeks haven't exactly zipped by, but here on June 10, I already feel like summer is slipping away before it astronomically has even begun.

Honestly, the two weeks haven't been that bad. Lori and I saw Sarah McLachlan in concert last week, and the show was great. We split a canned margarita and a bag of popcorn, and though the heat was unusual for early June, it cooled off enough once Sarah took the stage. We didn't stay for the encore -- she played a new song and "Angel," which might be our least favorite of her songs -- and got out of the parking lot quickly.

Our summer is coalescing somewhat. I'm going to Chicago next week for a break from work and Utah. Ben and I were thinking of going to Vegas for that week, but his club team is traveling to Oregon for a meet in July, and he doesn't want to miss too much time off work. Plus, Lori and Michael were already planning some sort of trip to the Pacific Northwest, so they are combining the excursions into one while I'll stay at home. But I still had the week off and desperately need a break, and I thought, a week in Chicago to lounge, write, and do things I normally don't get to when we visit, would be awesome. I found decent airfare and will be back for eight days. I'll also get to see the cicadas.

Ben and I still might swing a trip later in the summer before he starts school, and Michael and I may try getting up to Glacier National Park in August as well. Four weeks of vacation is wonderful, and I'm glad I can finally use some of it -- and that's why I'm so optimistic for this summer.

The start of summer, has been a little slow, however. I was still dragging from COVID the weekend before last, and this past weekend wasn't boring but I wasn't super productive. The heat kept me from doing much outside, and I didn't think to maybe work on cleaning out the office until late Sunday afternoon. Work has been so busy and a bit intense, providing another reason why I really need the break next week.

I'm also feeling a little somber -- I got a heart CT scan that measures calcium buildup early last month and finally got the results last Friday ... and I have a little more moderate plaque than I hoped. I've been way overthinking the implications of that at night (every little ache has me thinking, is that angina? -- it's not, but that doesn't stop me from Googling symptoms), even though I got an ECG last year that revealed my heart was beating strong. Still, it feels like a wakeup call, and I've been better about not eating stupid the last three days, which I think will be the game-changer on all this. I've lost weight before when I've done that, and now there's more urgency. But, not thinking about all this hasn't been easy. 

I'm about 16 percent of the way through summer, just like that. Nothing else that eventful happened the last 12 days, but maybe summer is just warming up, no pun intended. The best is yet to come.

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