Good Sunday evening.
I had grand plans to sit down this afternoon with some coffee & write a lovely blog chronicling our summer thus far. What happened instead is I sat & watched LSU's baseball team play in the SEC Tourney title game - - actually I am sitting & watching as I type - - .
As night leads to day, this afternoon's events led me to Robert Burns's poem, "To a Mouse." The line quoted above can be loosely translated: The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Because the Tigers are down by a run as I type this, I am not taking the time to look this up, but I am pretty sure John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men (which I've never read) takes its title from this line in Burns's poem. Even when I am completely distracted & offering no solid life advice, I don't want you to walk away with nothing for having read the blog, so there is some trivia for you.
As night leads to day, this afternoon's events led me to Robert Burns's poem, "To a Mouse." The line quoted above can be loosely translated: The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Because the Tigers are down by a run as I type this, I am not taking the time to look this up, but I am pretty sure John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men (which I've never read) takes its title from this line in Burns's poem. Even when I am completely distracted & offering no solid life advice, I don't want you to walk away with nothing for having read the blog, so there is some trivia for you.
I never imagined LSU would be playing baseball today; I am thrilled they are playing baseball today, but it was just not an event I anticipated usurping my Sunday afternoon. Their season thus far didn't lead me to believe they'd make it to the title game in the SEC Tournament, but here I sit. I'll be honest & tell you my heart is with this game, but I will run you through (some of) the highlights of last week, our first official week of summer.
The children & I have slipped seamlessly into summer. Last Monday morning we kicked things off at Chick-fil-A. The kids are overly familiar with the drive-thru at our local Chick-fil-A, but one of our favorite things to do in the summer is go eat breakfast at Chick-fil-A (circa ten-ish because I mean it is summer). We sit & eat a leisurely breakfast, & then the children run wild in the indoor playground while I sip coffee, read, &/or enjoy free WiFi while ducking if I see anyone I know because I am inevitably wearing not a stitch of makeup & in clothes that double as pajamas.
Other highlights of last week include a trip to Books-a-Million, not waking early in the morning, never opening my tube of mascara, drinking a lot of coffee at all hours of the day, & eating breakfast at ten-thirty, which is the children's lunchtime at school. There were so many, many beautiful shifts in our schedule.
One of my favorite things about summer is the ten pm to one am block. During the school year, it is best that I sleep during this time, but these hours are primetime in summer. These are the hours during which I am my best self. I've been reading this month's book club book (Melanie Shankle's Church of the Small Things), & I've been watching a lot of episodes of Forensic Files with Trey.
Forensic Files is a great show for couples to enjoy together; you watch intently while alternately side-eyeing each other wondering if any changes have recently been made to your life insurance policy. Oh, I am kidding . . . about me & Trey, of course, not about the countless marriages that end tragically when one spouse kills the other in order to collect life insurance money. I guess when you're driven to murder someone, you're just not thinking straight as it is; these fools always up the payout on the policy *literally* weeks before offing their spouse.
One of my favorite things about summer is the ten pm to one am block. During the school year, it is best that I sleep during this time, but these hours are primetime in summer. These are the hours during which I am my best self. I've been reading this month's book club book (Melanie Shankle's Church of the Small Things), & I've been watching a lot of episodes of Forensic Files with Trey.
Forensic Files is a great show for couples to enjoy together; you watch intently while alternately side-eyeing each other wondering if any changes have recently been made to your life insurance policy. Oh, I am kidding . . . about me & Trey, of course, not about the countless marriages that end tragically when one spouse kills the other in order to collect life insurance money. I guess when you're driven to murder someone, you're just not thinking straight as it is; these fools always up the payout on the policy *literally* weeks before offing their spouse.
There are a few things on the horizon about which I am excited. Unfortunately, LSU is currently down by two runs right now & I want to vomit, so some of the details of our exciting plans I'd normally share with you will have to wait. What it boils down to is this:
(1) I have book club tomorrow night, & I can drink fully caffeinated coffee after five pm and stay out late(ish) with the ladies.
(2) I am going to purge our home of about 35-40% of what we own. On a related note, if you are a woman who wears a size ten shoe, stay tuned! You may soon hit the shoe jackpot if you pay attention to my Facebook page.
(3) In less than a month a brand new Jurassic World film will be released in theaters nationwide.
Let me share a quick memory with you. I recall the summer of 2015 with fondness. The last two summers I've been busy with agonizing online graduate courses, but this was not the case during the summer of 2015. Trey came home from work one Tuesday, & he could tell it had been a long day for me. At this time, Reagan was four & Henry had just turned two. Since it was cheap movie night at the local theater, Trey suggested I throw on a trendy top that matched my sweatpants & go see a movie by myself. I agreed. I had no idea what was showing at the theater, but sitting in a quiet, darkened theater all by myself while eating a vat of popcorn was all I really needed.
As it turns out, I saw Jurassic World that night. I loved, loved the original Jurassic Park. I hadn't seen it (or any dinosaur-themed film) in years because, well, I was in college & then I got a job & got married & had kids. Happening upon Jurassic World was maybe the best movie surprise of my life, & I am so excited for this year's film.
In upcoming blogs, I plan to lay out my summer goals for you in detail, & maybe we'll unpack my complete fascination with violent dinosaur movies. For now, it is the bottom of the sixth & LSU is still down two runs, so I am off to sit in a corner with my fingers crossed, a position I may as well practice because college football season will be here before we know it.
Come what may, tomorrow morning it will still be sweet, sweet summer.
Also, GEAUX TIGERS. No matter what, I love you, I am proud of you, & I am sorry I totally discounted your ability to make it to today's SEC Tournament title game.
Oh. Bases are loaded with Tigers. One out. Bottom of the sixth.
Bye.
AZ
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