bring on the summer

For me, officially, summer has begun.

I love summer.

I taught my last students yesterday, and have today and Friday off. A day off...strike that, a day of sleeping in, hasn't happened for me in quite a while. I have two weeks off from teaching, and then I start up a summer schedule with the kids that are taking lessons.

Chuck moved in with me for the summer. It's been fun and sometimes stressful, because this place was my space first, and it's not very big. So trying to fit more stuff into it and get organized has been a bit of a challenge. But still it's nice to wake up to a friendly face every morning, and share a meal at home with someone. Especially someone as cool as Chuck. :)

I started lifeguarding at the pool in Plano. It's okay so far; not as disorganized and dramatic as Frog's last summer, which is a definite good thing. But the people are a little unfriendly, in the way of teenagers, and definitely ignorant of any politics but those of their parents. For me, that means I've been doing a lot of baiting, and challenging views. It's going to be an interesting, if not confrontational, summer.

We would be leaving for California tomorrow if I didn't have to go to these stupid job orientation sessions Friday and Saturday. So we're leaving Saturday night and driving as straight through to Arizona as we can...and then saving a leisurely drive through CA for Sunday/Monday.

Summer means also that Tim and Allison are gone. They're coming back in the fall of course, and Chuck and I will see them in Wisconsin in July, but it makes my relief to see summer come bittersweet. I seem to have a problem with goodbyes lately. Some of them have been so painful that now all of them make me tear up. Plus, there go the two people that made this place bearable. Yeah, I still have Chuck, and that's awesome...I dunno. I hate the feeling nonetheless. Jerry, everyone in Madison, my parents, friends from last summer, Chris, and now Tim and Allison...why do I feel like even when I'm the one moving, everyone is leaving me?

On Saturday it's off on the open road and headed west for sweet relief from this shitty state, to see oceans and cliffs and hills and my pretty, pretty city spread out before me.

I think I left three weeks ago.

Here's to the summer I turn 24.