Livin'

I can't remember the exact phrase but in one of my favorite movies, Dazed and Confused, the character Wooderson, talks about how he is just living, "livin." While this movie is almost 20 years old (ack!!), I still enjoy quoting it from time to time. Actually, truth be told, I probably quote it on a semi-daily basis.

Today is the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend - the official kick-off weekend of the summer season. My plan is for this summer to be my official summer of livin'. I just want to have fun and enjoy myself. For the past two years I have been bogged down with cancer, my treatments, my recovery, my surgeries, the side effects, the emotional breakdowns, and I'm done. I just want to move on and what better way than to focus on having fun. Brandon and I even started our summer a little early. First by going to Belgium and the Netherlands for a week at the end of April/early May. And then by taking a random vacation day earlier this week to visit Cedar Point (the best roller coaster amusement park in the country!).

So what do I have planned for my summer of fun? Let's see...

• When in town for a full week, I will work longer days Monday-Thursday so I can schedule Friday afternoons off.
  
• On these Friday afternoons, I will do something fun including kayaking, going to the movies, drinking sparkling wine in the back yard, or going for a long bike ride.
  
• Maintain a kickass vegetable garden. Try to get the rest of the yard under control and be relatively attractive.
  
• Travel to Hilton Head for Brandon's cousin's wedding, and spend a couple of extra days in Savannah.
  
• Leave a few days early for my annual library conference to spend time with my mother and grandmother. My mother and I are planning to spend one of those days at Rehoboth Beach, one of my favorite places in the world and I haven't been since before all the cancer stuff started.
  
• Spend a weekend on a pontoon boat and camping with friends in southern Indiana.
  
• Try new and different restaurants in Columbus (so maybe I'll stop complaining about how boring I think this city can be).
  

That is my list so far, and I'm sure that I am forgetting something. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for activities I can add to this list. We still haven't decided what to do for Birthday week (Brandon's birthday is 7/14 and mine is 7/19). A few years ago we went to Albuquerque, and last year we went to Toronto. Some years, we stay home and try to do something different each night (mini golf, go out for ice cream, watch a movie,...). And Nanette and Chris are planning a visit out here for a couple of days during the week after my birthday. So more activities are sure to be scheduled for this awesome summer of livin'.

P.S. I still need to have one more surgery this summer which will put a slight damper on all the fun to be had. Hopefully the date for this surgery will be chosen on Tuesday.

P.P.S. And I'm going to try to be better about writing the blog. It helps with my emotional and mental healing, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood to write.