1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week today. What are ten things you’d put on your list of quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?
I actually did a Thursday 13 post about this not that long ago but I’ll try to list some here anyway: Go to the community pool, watch fireflies, shoot fireworks, blow bubbles, eat popsicles, go to the beach, enjoy the sunsets because of the later evenings, travel, slow down, go tubing on a river.
I’ve been trying to get all these accomplished!
2. Do you collect seashells when you’re at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home? What’s your favorite place to comb for seashells? How many of these ‘best beaches for hunting seashells’ have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit?
Yes! I try to anyway. The gulf beach we go to doesn’t have a whole lot but we collect what we can. I had a display in one of my bathrooms with all manner of sea life collections but what we do now is each person in our family finds one thing they like and I put them in small jars with lids and date them.
I have been to Sanibel and it WAS great for that! I’d love to go to any beach that’s good for sea glass.
3. At a snail’s pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up...which ‘shell’ phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.
Go back into my shell. Yesterday I semi-detailed a situation I stupidly got myself into. I relayed something to my son about my friend’s son and I didn’t think how it might hurt the other kid. I guess I didn’t think my kid would go telling him I said it. Actually, truth be told, I don’t remember telling him in the first place. But either way, it was wrong what I did and my friend was quite upset with me. And then I was really upset because I never meant to hurt her or her kid and I was so mad at myself. Mostly, disappointed and embarrassed. She and I did work it out and agreed to move on but I am staying away today. She works on campus with me and I normally go out to chat but I think I need a day away. I’m still ashamed.
4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?
Oddly enough, even though I take pride in it, mowing the lawn. If it rains a lot like it has been, the grass grows like crazy and I get really tired of the constant upkeep. I also hate pushing the mower with the bag on – it’s heavy and I can only make a few passes before it is full. But if I don’t, the summer clippings end up on the lawn and then they kill it. It’s just painstaking work.
5. What’s something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?
Books. Physical tomes. I know there will be historical ones and they won’t every truly go away but I am pretty sure we’re going to be printing fewer and fewer. Does it bother me? Yes, but not entirely. I am a utilitarian person and if one small thin device can house my entire collection, it makes SO much more sense. On the other hand, I love the feel of a book in my hands: the smell, the weight of it, actually turning pages. I’m also a collector at heart so a bookshelf full is really satisfying. But technology is the future.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
If I don’t see the sun today I might scream. Chances are I won’t; there’s a tropical storm making its way northwest of us and we get the steady rain fallout. It’s been days already and my mood is plummeting. I wish I wasn’t so affected by the dreariness but I am. That’s just me.
Hopefully I can shake this garbage feeling and get back to my normal status quo.
incognitusscriptor.com 
Try not to beat yourself up too much over what happened between you and your friend over her son. We all say and do things we regret and you have worked through it with her. Yes, it’s embarrassing that it happened, but move on and remember the lesson learned.
I think it will be a long while yet before we dispense entirely with physical books. There are many people like you and me who prefer them and bookstores still seem to be doing a killer business. Yes, mostly the big box bookstores nowadays, but that is just financial common sense.
I had something similar happen to me with a friend. I vented to her, one mom to another, about my daughter, and she went and told her daughter, who was my daughter’s close friend. Then her daughter told MY daughter what I’d said. It really broke my heart because I felt like I couldn’t trust this friend any more.
I know it’s a little different, but the feelings of shame are the same. Give yourself some grace. She’s forgiven you. Hugs to you!
I agree, cutting the grass can be a chore!
Good luck with your fun summer list!
I think most of us have at times said something to our child about the child of a friend or relative not really thinking much of it or that our child would go and tell the child we spoke about what we said and they have done so and we ended up in the shit over it and feeling bad over the whole thing, so these things happen at least you and your friend have been able to talk about it and sort it out, so put it behind you and move on
I haven’t faced her yet but we did it over text. I am sure I am making it worse than it is and we can move on; your’e totally right.
I hope the sun comes out soon where you are. I don’t mind rain but after a few days it gets to be a bit much. I am sorry about the situation with your friend. I think we’ve all experienced that feeling and it will get better. That is the good thing about friends, we forgive, love and move on 🙂
I think it’s great that you talked it out with your friend. I’ve been in those situations and the other parent has never bothered to discuss it. She just always assumed I’d get over it. Which I thought I did until that nasty little gremlin who lives in my head pops up and says something about it. It was eons ago for goodness sakes. Anyway, good that y’all talked about it. But I get staying away. If it had been me, I probably would do the same thing. We’ve had rain, too. Some was supposed to be from the tropical storm. I do enjoy rainy days. If only we could have them without the humidity. Ha! I mow the lawn every other week and the man does in between. I refuse to use the bag he refuses to not use it. 🙂 Hope you get some sunshine. That storm is packing more of a punch than some people thought, it seems.
I enjoyed your list of summer things to do.
It’s so easy to beat ourselves up over things that we say. Thankfully you and your friend could talk about it and agree to move on, so now you can forgive yourself and just chalk it up to a lesson learned. I’m reminded so often that there are good reasons why the book of Proverbs is so full of cautions about our words. One that always convicts me is “A fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” (Proverbs 29:11). Another is Proverbs 31:26 — “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.”
A friend of mine made some gorgeous wreaths by gluing seashells to straw wreath forms. I have one in my seashell-themed bathroom and it has stayed in good shape (with occasional vacuuming) for many years. Another good use of shells!
We have the Kindle, but we still prefer print books. It just feels better to hold the book in your hand. We like to mow the yard, too. We have an old style reel mower that comes in very handy. It is also a great workout.
Sounds like a fun summer ahead. So sorry about the situation you shared about going back into your shell. I agree, a full bookself is satisfying. I’m in Florida visiting my dad and we didn’t see the sun for a couple of days.