Saturday, June 2, 2012

The summer with the fringe on top



As the song goes, “There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow…the corn is as high as a elephant’s eye, and it looks like it’s climbing clear up to the sky.   Oh, what a beautiful morning. Oh, what a beautiful day.  I got a beautiful feeling everything’s going my way.”

It certainly is a beautiful morning and by the sounds of the birds around me I think they are in agreement.  From my view on the porch the meadow is bright and the corn is high.  I don’t know if everything’s going my way, but it’s definitely coming my way.  

As I sit here, on my porch, on this unseasonably cool, June, Saturday morning I realize this is the last June Saturday morning I will be at home.  For the first time in forever my summer, or at least early summer, is booked with places to go and things to do.  It feels odd, really, to know I have so many things lined up.  It’s not my lifestyle, or at least my reality lifestyle.  In my dream life I am jetting all over, and when I’m home I’m usually at my cottage by the shore.  But in real life I’m always home, literally.  I hang my keys by the door on Friday evening and pick them up again on Monday morning.  If I leave the driveway anytime in between its usually because my husband wants to go out to eat or on those occasions when I get the shopping bug and have to go.

I’m not complaining.  I love being at home, but I also love to travel and roam.  It’s just that my life hasn’t gone in that direction, yet.  This month is the beginning (and if my bank account doesn’t improve, probably the last) of my travel days, at least for this summer.   I remember a Seinfeld episode where George declared it “the summer of George!”  Maybe this is my summer of Elizabeth.

My summer kicks off Monday, actually, with my youngest son starting driver’s ed.  I’m so happy for him, to have something to do instead of sitting in front of his computer all day.  I know this doesn’t have anything to do with me, but it will make me get up early everyday (I am home) this month and get him to school on time.  And since his school is at my job then maybe I’ll get to work on time too.

Next weekend, beginning Wednesday, I’m off to my annual Cousin Reunion on the Gulf Coast.  (Yay! Cousin Reunion.)  It’s a time when I get together with my sisters and some first cousins to while away the weekend doing much of nothing.  Our big event is a night out on Saturday when we will go to mass, eat out as a group, and then head to one of the local gaming establishments to try our luck in the hopes of winning the big one.   

One Reunion we walked into such an establishment and a voice popped into my head and told me to find a dwarf.  Well, let’s just say I found one cousin cashing in on her investment and down the row from her was, yes, a dwarf.  And, let’s just say I am now looked upon as one with special powers.  I can’t help what I hear in my head.  What I am thinking is that this is the first reunion with my mother in heaven.  My lucky, gambling-rich, want the best for everybody, selfless, mother.  And I am hoping that right now she is saying prayers of intercession for her broke children and nieces so that they can catch a break.  (Mama, are you listening?)

The weekend after the Cousin Reunion I am going to New York City with my sister, the pesky one, and my niece and one of her friends.  We will be gone an entire week, Saturday to Saturday.  The “thing” I want to do is go to Ellis Island and see what my grandfather saw when he stepped off the boat for the first time.  I want to listen for the echoes of the voices of those immigrants from so long ago.  I want to soak in it.  We have tickets to see Once on Broadway, and I hope to see a couple of other shows, but other than that we will be going freestyle. Que sera sera.  

The weekend following my New York trip I’ll finally get to spend some time with my family in Destin.  I can smell the saltwater just thinking about it.  There is something about the vastness of the ocean, the lull of the waves, the warmth of the sand that makes me feel close to the Creator.  My beach visits have always been a reflective time for me.  A time of renewal.

The Saturday after Destin I will be in Ohio again, visiting my oldest friend and travelling partner.  Our ramblings will lead us to the big city of Cleveland to look at and listen to the songs of Mr. James Taylor.  JT, as I call him.  Only one of my favorite entertainers of all time.  I’m just a little bit excited. But JT is just the icing.  The cake is spending a few days with my friend. Icing is sweet but cake is so much better.

So, driver’s ed, reunion, New York, Destin, Ohio.  How will I pay for all of this?  Que sera sera. (Mama, are you listening?)

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