And so another summer is drawing to an end. This summer was one of the hottest in recent memory, and the whole state saw 100+ heat indexes day after day for several weeks in a row. There were several nights in July when even nighttime failed to bring any relief from the heat. The air was heavy…stifling…and I began to wonder if I would ever get another decent night’s sleep. But the end of August saw a break, and on the first day of September, I woke for the first time in months and groped in the darkness for a blanket. The air coming through our open window was chilly and refreshing. I lay there in the early morning light and tried to retrace my steps through summer.
In early June, I began teaching piano lessons for the daughter of some family friends. She’s almost seven years old…bright, energetic, and eager to learn. It feels good to play again, and there’s a certain emotional freedom that only exists when I’m touch those black and white keys. On the weekend before David’s sixth birthday, we took an afternoon trip to Tybee Island with the McGowan/Lacienski clan. Jessica Hayes flew in from Los Angeles the following week and organized a trip to Stone Mountain the second weekend in June. I hadn’t seen the laser show since high school, and it was nice to chill on the lawn with close friends. Two weeks after our previous visit, we went back to Guyton to celebrate Grandma McGowan’s 80th birthday, Alaina’s birthday, and Father’s Day. I took the following Monday off and had lunch with my old friend, Brittany D. That night, Hannah and I started a short-lived tradition of walking at Rock Creek park. At the end of the month, the kids attended Bible school. It was David's second year attending and Emily's first year. They had a blast and seemed to learn a lot. Emily showed a particular enthusiasm for singing and dancing, while David showed the most appreciation for recess.
At the beginning of July, my in-laws came up to install a much-needed window unit in the girl's bedroom. It was an early birthday present for Ava and arrived in the middle of an unrelenting heat wave. Perfect timing. Shortly before their arrival, Emily developed a fever that wound up lasting six days. While Johnathan and I took David and Ava to see fireworks, Emily crashed on the couch with her grandparents and controlled the television for the evening. The next morning, our family lined up along Tribble Gap Road and watched the steam engine parade. Ava sat happily in Granmere's lap, Emily fell asleep between Grandma and Grandpa, and David fought his way to the front to gather candy. Emily's fever left as quickly as it came, and exactly one day later, David picked up the same illness. Rinse and repeat. Six days of fever and fatigue. Then poof! Gone. One day after David's fever lifted, Ava came down with the same illness. Little miss was feeling a bit better by her first birthday and had perked up enough to enjoy her birthday dinner. Dad and Natalie stopped by to help us celebrate, and then Ava's first official party was on the third weekend of the month. In an unusual gesture, she turned her nose up at BBQ, but still showed plenty of appreciation for her strawberry cake. On the second to last weekend in July, we went down to Guyton for our monthly visit and celebrated Ava’s birthday with yet another family dinner. David and Emily stayed down for the entire following week, and I went home to rest up and gear up for Lori’s wedding. On July 31st, I had the privilege of taking photos at my friend Lori’s wedding. It was my first experience doing wedding photography, and while I was extremely nervous, I also had a lot of fun. The bride was beautiful, the colors were gorgeous, and the church was spectacular. The weather was a discouraging 100 degrees on that bright, sunny day, but we were fortunate to spend most of our time inside. I learned that an external flash would have been helpful and decided that I will eventually take a class and get some kind of certification in photography. All I needed was a launching pad and a little bit of encouragement.
August signaled the beginning of school, and yesterday was the mid-point of September. On the second day of the month, Johnathan and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. I still enjoy the simple things the most and still have those overwhelming moments where I realize that I married “that” guy…the one I giggled about with my roommate. The one I could stand in a parking lot with and talk to for hours. The one who drives me crazy with his arguing style. The one who baffles me with his computer obsession. Four years later, as Shania Twain once said, “…[he’s] still the one I run to, the one that I belong to.” We’re still capable of screaming matches, but we’ve also gotten a lot better at saying, “I’m sorry.” It’s amazing to me that you can get closer and closer to someone…and just when you think you can’t get any closer to each other, another year passes and you find that things are better than they’ve ever been.
I can’t wait to start our fall festivities. We’re already gearing up and doing work around the house. Pressure washing, painting, planting, decorating. Everyone feels a spark of motivation now that there’s a nip in the air every morning.
Have I mentioned how much I adore my crazy life?
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