Summer, summer, summertime

When I was a kid, I was lucky enough to have two grandmothers that were either retired or available all summer. Or should I say my mom was that lucky. I remember having so much fun with them, swimming, playing games and generally relaxing. It was a nice break from school and a good solution for my care. This being Dylan's first actual summer has presented me with the challenge of figuring out what to do with him all summer long. I don't want him to have to keep a strict schedule. I think summer is a time for taking it easy.
I think he will go to a local daycare for their school age program for most of the summer. It should be fun enough, with field trips, swim lessons and lots of friends to play with. He may attend a half day baseball camp for one week and hopefully we can take a fun family vacation too. I really hope that one of these days I will be in a position to take more time off and spend this special time with him. As for now, I will take advantage of the weekends and days off.
SeaWorld, Schlitterbahn, the lake house, summer reading plan. These are the things we will definitely make time for.
I cannot believe he is finishing up kindergarten and his first baseball season. He is growing up so fast. Maybe this summer will slow the clock down and allow us to absorb every memory, but time seems to keep moving faster. I hope he understands how wonderful this stage of his life is and doesn't rush away his childhood.

Can you read between the lines?

Breaking the monotony with good music.
Organizing the massive mess of paperwork.
Reading press releases and publications.
Emails, emails, emails.
Delegating.

Applying for account numbers.
Time sheet to the 1/10 of an hour.

Wishing the clock would tick a little faster.
Ordering forms, checks and supplies.
Recalculating taxes.
Knowledge I never knew I wanted to know.

Sweet tea, sweet tea, oh how do I love thee?

Sweet tea, sweet tea, you are so good to me.

In a tall glass with vodka and lemonade,

I do believe that my day would be made.

Brewed by the sun or in a microwave dish,

If you offer sweet tea, I'll drink like a fish.

Drinking sweet tea makes me feel like a king,

Sweet tea, sweet tea, what a great Southern thing.

My Life as Carrie

Many, many years ago, my mom and I tried to start a writing club with a few of her friends. We would select a topic and everyone would write a short story or poem or whatever they fancied. We would meet once a month and read aloud to each other and critic. This happened for one month. I am not really sure where it all fell apart.
Writing was always one of my favorite things to do growing up. Once in elementary school we had a writing symposium and took some seminars over the course of two days. At the end we had an assembly. One of the local newscasters MC'ed the final assembly. He had chosen one submission to read aloud to the entire school. It was mine. It was such a great feeling. Then, in a composition class at community college, my professor asked if he could read my paper aloud. He did and he had turned my conclusion into a transparency that he used to show the rest of the class just how it was supposed to be done. Again, it was a great feeling. Both events were slightly embarrassing, but I was proud of myself nonetheless.
The story I wrote for the writing club was about the day my father passed away and all the things that took place that day, physical and emotional. Everyone (all three of them) really liked it. It got me thinking about an idea: to write a collection of short stories about all the wacky things that have happened to me in my life. Some funny, some tragic, some run-of-the-mill. I even created a list of ideas, but never even started.
Again, I find myself contemplating this idea. Don't get me wrong, I am not expecting to get published or anything. Just a way to therapeutically get my creative juices flowing and maybe share them with a few folks. We'll see if I can stick with it this time.

Cinema Sin

With The Oscars fast approaching, I have seen quite a few great movies this month. I really enjoy a good movie. I like a broad spectrum of genres. But, I'll be honest, I have some guilty pleasures, too. For some reason I got the song "Feed Me Seymour" from "Little Shop of Horrors" stuck in my head today. (Most likely due to my first post of the day where all I could think about was stuffing my pie hole. BTW, I had spinach lasagna!) This got me thinking about all the movies I LOVED as a kid. You know the ones you could watch over, and over, and over without getting sick of them. The ones you had almost every line memorized. Anyway, here are some of my all time favs. I would love to hear which make you nostalgic.

"Little Shop of Horrors" (as previously mentioned)
"Adventures in Babysitting"
"Teen Witch" ("I'm hot and you're not....)
"The Breakfast Club"
"Coming to America"
"An Officer and a Gentleman"
"Big"
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
"Dream a Little Dream"
"Can't Buy Me Love"
"Beetlejuice"

Man, I could go on and on.

Feeling the Pang

Is it "pang"? Hunger pang. Hmm. Anyway, I am hungry. I had a yogurt for breakfast with my coffee and that filled me up for about 20 minutes. I am waiting on a coworker to finish up so we can get outta here for a bit and feed our faces. I made a mistake and ate a butterscotch candy. While delicious, it just made me more hungry. Now for the last hour all I have been thinking about is food.
When I was a teenager and in my early twenties, I could go until 2 or 3 in the afternoon without even thinking about food. Easily. Most of the time I would eat once a day with maybe a little snack if it was presented. When did I get so hungry? No wonder I was able to stay thin back then when I consumed maybe 1,000 calories a day. (Okay, most days I could add another 400 or 500 for beer consumption.) I just don't think I could do that now. I would feel faint by 2 PM with no food. I would be cranky.
So, I guess the question is..........................skinny, bitchy, and nauseated.....or......fat and happy?
I think I am feeling Gatti's buffet.

Burr Baseball Burden

I am nervous. I have a bit of anxiety about the upcoming baseball season. This will be Dylan's first year to play. We signed him up for coach pitch. The team is six and seven year-old boys. I have a feeling most of them have played tee-ball since they were three and are already used to the routine. I worry that his sensitivity will get the best of him. But mostly I fear he won't live up to his birthright potential.
Jason and his brothers were all very good baseball players. They all played up to the junior college level. They all won countless trophies. My father-in-law was a good player and a distingished coach. He started the Little League in Tulsa and coached a team that went to the Little League World Series. Okay, that is amazing!
Dylan has always been physically coordinated. Lots of people are amazed at his flexibility, natural talent and speed. I know I should not worry, but I do. What if he feels the pressure? And worst of all, what if he doesn't like it?