I smell Coppertone, baby oil, cocoa butter, and the sweet syrupy scent of sno-cones mingled with the smokey aroma of burning mosquito repellant coils wafting through night air. I taste ice cold watermelon, freshly squeezed lemonade, and salty ocean water. I feel the hot summer sun prickling my skin, the slight sting that quickly becomes incessant itching from pesky mosquito bites. I can still feel those cool breezes blowing from large box fans, and sand gritty in my hair, on my skin and beneath my fingernails. I hear the pounding of ocean waves, the soft rumble of boat motors, the whirl of a fisherman’s reel being cast far into blue waters. I see the heat radiating from sidewalks, sun-kissed bodies in tiny swim suits, melting ice cream dripping from cones that are anxious to be licked, fireflies lighting up summer nights, and shimmering moonlit waters. So many reminders of summertime are indelible in my mind.
A strange gloominess washes over me as I realize school begins next week. I’m not sure this odd sadness is explainable, perhaps it’s that Pavlovian urge that keeps me yearning for those summer memories will never end. Call me Peter Pan, yet instead of never wanting to grow up, I simply long for continual summers. I will admit that around the second week into the school year this woeful longing subsides and suddenly I’m all about fall sweaters and crossing my fingers for a drastic drop in temperature.
This has been a fast and furious summer, one that has been non-stop and I wonder if my constant travel is too much.
June was spent in the Texas sun. I kicked off the summer at the beach with good friends. The guys permitted me to join them air boat fishing through the back channels and inlets of the Gulf. It was hotter than blue blazes, but oh, so fun, and I did manage to catch the largest fish! I will never take Steve’s and my couple friends for granted as they continue to so graciously include me. The wives are among my dearest friends and their sweet husbands, well, they have become my brothers from other mothers. I hope they will never tire of me being that third wheel, as their friendships enhance my life in countless ways.
Lake LBJ was next in my summer travels. Our 12th Boswell summer trip to Log Country Cove will forever be a favorite summer trip for all of us. Our family has morphed over the span of these twelve years. The absence of Steve and his mom, Evelyn, has caused our family number to shrink, however, the grandchildren have not only caused our family to grow in number, but also in size. Incredibly, Dylan, the first of our nine grandchildren, is now every inch a 16 year old. Oh how quickly time flies. We have hundreds of pictures and memories of all of those fun summer days, and I am blessed by each and every summer we have spent together.
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| Log Country Cove 2015 |
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| 2012 |
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| 2011 |
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| 2010 |
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| 2009 |
In July, I retreated to the cool country. My first stop, Santa Fe. Here a small group of friends spent a few days in one of my favorite cities. We shopped the International Folk Art Festival, ate delicious food and simply enjoyed time away. One evening our group of five joined a group of six other women (one being a friend of both groups). This evening became one of those unique times when we found ourselves standing on holy ground. A rare evening of women coming together and without intention, shared our experiences and our faith, and allowed God to weave his presence into the fabric our lives. We all left feeling we were bound by a gentle woven bond. We were all thankful God had brought us together on this lovely summer night. I have no doubt God will enable our paths to cross in very meaningful ways in the future. Exciting stuff!
I made a quick trip back home to spend a really sweet night at Hill Country Hyatt Resort with a group of good friends. Our friendships initially formed because we were all moms of daughters who had gone to high school together. Let me back up a little. Last winter, our daughters invited their moms to attend a spiritual retreat. God blessed us that week-end as mothers and daughters shared our hearts. Through our vulnerability each of us allowed ourselves to be woven into a special blanket of sisterhood, one so rare, and so precious. It was this week-end that resulted in this summer reunion. Doubling the fun, the girls all decided to bring their children. Wild? Yes! Crazy commotion? Absolutely! Our small number now totaled forty. Oh how quickly we can multiply! I left feeling so blessed that God molded and shaped our daughters into women of remarkable faith, and enabled them to become incredible mothers to each of our many, many grandchildren.
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| The Mothers |
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| The Daughters |
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| The Grand Children |
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| The Group Multiplied |
A quick turn around and Lucy and I headed back to the mountains, this time Colorado. First stop, Creede where I spent a really sweet time with the Boswell sisters, and Tom. Bonnie and Tom have a gorgeous home on the Rio Grande River, surrounded by the beautiful Colorado mountains. I’m thankful Bonnie and Bos continue to embrace me and call me their sister. Each time I am with them, I feel and sense Steve’s presence. Perhaps it’s the tone of a subtle remark, the twinkle in an eye, the simple shrug of a shoulder…these are all small nuances that only siblings share. This is only one of the many reasons I so cherish this sweet bond of sisterhood.
Lucy and I said our good-byes and headed to Breckenridge. I had rented a house for two weeks and was delighted to have the Meabon family join me.
I wrote an entire blog about this trip and all the wonderful, funny things that happened during my time with Harper and Harris. Why I never finished this writing…I decided I didn't want to be that grandmother going on and on about her adorable, overly intelligent, incredibly funny offspring. I have to say, my favorite part of these two weeks was waking each morning to have the youngest of my grandchildren curled up in the curves of my body, still half asleep, not yet driven by youth’s endless energy. All three of us simply reveled in those pre-dawn moments. There is nothing finer, nothing more worthy, than these sweet, priceless moments in quiet stillness.
I ended my summer with a Thelma and Louise quick trip to Las Vegas with a good friend. We laughed, sweated a lot and lost a little money, but the fun and laughter was well worth all else. Nothing can top memories made from laughter with a good friend…Thanks, Carolyn!
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| Thelma & Louise |
As I read over what I have just written the thing that stands out most in my mind isn’t all the places I’ve been these past three months, it is the precious moments that have been forever woven into the fabric of my life.
Monday morning, school zone warnings will again be flashing. Those blinking lights have had a little reprieve these past three months of summer, they were given a much needed rest from their responsibility. I will drive more slowly as I pass through school crossings, but I hope each time my foot lifts from the accelerator, I will pause and give thanks for this past summer and for all the summers that have helped to create the intricate, rich and lovely fabric of my life.
For what it’s worth,
Janet
Genesis 8:22 “As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.”
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