I've been a student or a teacher pretty much my whole life. With the exception of my first summer out of college (when I was traveling with a children's theatre company for a year), I've always existed on this schedule of 9 months on, 3 months off (though now it's more like 9.75 months on, 2.25 months off). Now that I'm an administrator in a school, I still feel the shift in rhythm when the students leave and the campus quiets, but gone are the days of freedom, of not having to set my alarm, of feeling that I can truly stretch into a few months of summer.
That said, we made the most of this summer, both of the three weeks I had away from school and of the many weeks of other new adventures and exciting firsts. And so, since the photo journal is always more exciting that the written one, here's our summer.
It was a summer of firsts...
First fourth of July picnics and after-bedtime fireworks...
First milkshake (topped with the appropriate amount of whipped cream to celebrate successful nighttime potty training!):
First serious hike--Lily made it a full mile on some steep slopes!
It was a summer of favorite things...
Popsicle walks before bed:
Hours at the local playgrounds:
Visits to Sweet Frog on nights Daddy had to work:
Days at the pool and nights of neighborhood gatherings:
It was a summer to celebrate Lily's love of all creatures great and small...
Her much-beloved Ozzy and Rosie (who may not be with us much longer, but who Lily takes care of with great gentleness and care):
Her equally beloved Mallie, who she spent hours with every day we were in Connecticut (and still had plenty of love left over for Beamer and Dude!).
Her adoration of her MelMel's new puppy, Oliver:
And her constant imaginary play with any stuffed creature in arm's reach:
A summer of a beach week with best friends...
And, somehow, even a summer of rejuvenation for Mom and Dad!
It wasn't perfect. It wasn't always ideal. There were tears and tantrums, anger and frustration, exhaustion and disagreements. But it was summer--the summer our daughter was three, the summer she first went to camp, the summer she first spent an overnight with her Ganny and Gannydaddy, the summer we found joy in spite of disappointment. The summer that made us smile.
The summer whose memories will keep us smiling long into the fall and winter ahead.
The summer whose sequel we're already planning for.
