Now THAT’S What I Call Summer!

Friday – We started off the weekend right by getting off work about 2-3 hours early each. We went to a new jazz club downtown and nagged a great table for the band that night. I was going to try and go cheap and order something a little lighter on the menu but once we perused the whole thing, we decided you only live once! I got a great stuff chicken breast and Brian got blacked filet medallions along with a great bottle of pinot noir. The band was hot – it was their newest CD release party and the bar was packed with family and friends of the band. We stayed long enough to share a crème brulee and then strolled to the Chocolate Café for a cup of coffee. And then back to the house for . . . some fun.

Saturday – It was as gorgeous, warm day and after about a million phone calls with my aunt that week, we were able to coordinate a day at the beach with my aunt, uncle, cousin and his 5 year old son. We headed for the shore around 1pm and spent the day frolicking in the water, relaxing on the sand in our beach chairs, reading a trashy novel. Once we all were nice and toasty, we packed up and hit the beach pizza place for dinner. We were insanely lucky – the place is packed being that close to the beach but we breezed right in and got a table for 6 in under 10 minutes at dinnertime. Next, we headed to downtown for a little stroll and then to Kilwin’s for ice cream for dessert.

The 5 year old was starting to get a tad cranky and demanding and Brian was going right along with him, trying to put up with his whining. My cousin finally got the message and insisted on heading for home but not before his little boy had a complete meltdown about not being able to play on the play ground. Brian and I slowly backed away from the scene, said our goodbyes and headed towards our car. “Do you want to stay for the sunset?”, my beloved says so we dig our beach chairs out of the trunk and head back to the beach. We sat in silence, holding hands, staring at the blazing sun as it slowly lowered into the water – I really hadn’t felt that peaceful in a long time.

Sunday – Since we had pretty much blown our money wad Friday night, we decided it would be best to stay in Sunday night instead of going out to dinner. Brian had plans for a nice, long bike ride that day so I took in a movie, by myself – Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I really loved it but had to admit I felt a little sad that I was resorted to going to see this particular movie by myself. Oh, the irony!

When I got home, I went to town on the house so by the time Brian returned, I was pretty pooped and ready to relax a little so Brian headed out to the grocery store by himself to pick up a few items and hit the video store. He arrived home with about 10 bags of groceries and The Fight Club, a movie somehow, neither one of us has ever seen. Brian was in a summer kind of mood and had a ton of ideas of summer foods to make for dinner. We made homemade salsa, a homemade blueberry pie, corn on the cob and turkey brats – there was so much food, we could have fed an army! After dinner, we threw in the movie and when it was done, headed outside to enjoy the cool evening with a nice fire in our firepit. It was so odd having temps hitting 90 degrees during the day and then all the way back down in the 50s at night, with no humidity at all!

Monday – Lynne got my E-mail with all my questions about our friendship, if something was wrong, how I missed her, etc and had called me Friday to reassure me everything was OK, she was sorry I hadn’t heard from her much lately, saying she really was just busy and not upset or angry with me. It was nice to hear from her and know that even if we can’t spend much time together, we can still stay friends. I also think she “heard” me about wanting to be included in their lives, wanting to see the kids more before Friday, she invited me out to her parent’s house on the lake for Labor Day. Now – Lynne is infamous for mentioning fun events, that she is going to call you, do something with you and then never calling you like she said she was. So, to be honest, I wasn’t getting my hopes up about Monday. But, around 10:30 in the morning, my cell phone rang with Lynne, making sure I was still able to come and hang out.

I had gotten an early start on finishing my chores around the house and was just about an hour from finishing up when she called. Brian, on the other hand, had waited until the utter last minute of the weekend to accomplish everything he had wanted to do and was going to be stuck home, all day, getting everything done. I felt bad for him but I really wanted to go so I compromised and just went for about 2-3 hours. It really worked out well – Lynne headed to the lake while her 2 little ones were napping, her husband stayed behind with them so we had a whole 2 hours to ourselves to talk, catch up and talk with the rest of her family. It was more than I ever could have hoped for! I got to swim, got some sun, visited with people I haven’t seen in a while.

And now, back to the daily grind. Brian and I were both so down last night – like little kids, dragging our feet to get into bed. We won’t have another day off until our vacation at the end of October and while I know it will go fast, right now, it seems like a lifetime away.

But – fun stuff coming up! The first ND football game on Saturday and *fingers crossed* it doesn’t rain us out with Gustav. Our anniversary on Sunday – 12 years, thank you very much and we are going on a little wine tour of southwestern Michigan and then in another week, my 35th birthday.

I can’t believe it is September already! I saw a half naked tree already on my way to work this morning – doesn’t even seem possible.