You know how sometimes you think time flies and then sometimes you think time drags on and on? Well, my retirement internship ends at 3:30 this afternoon and I don’t feel that it went to fast or too slow. It was perfect!
But it’s time to say good-bye to a couple of my constant companions from the past four weeks Lolly and Gag must take their leave. I have enjoyed their time enormously, but we stay in contact, so they are never really very far out of reach.
There have been a couple of others who won’t be shooed out the door when Lolly and Gag go. Knit and Nap can stay. Knit and I are soul mates and Nap is a new acquaintance, but I enjoyed the time we’ve spent together lately, albeit brief. I’m thinking we may meet more often than I’ve allowed time for in the past.
Today is Goodnight’s last day of school and my last day in the car line. What you see is only one side of a rectangle – three of which constitute the car line waiting to pick up children after school. The fourth side of the rectangle is our exit from the car line.
Goodnight might just have made the ‘A’ Honor Roll again. Her History project Menudo was completely eaten. The kids loved it. Whew! We stopped at the coffee shop on the way to school and bought her teacher a cuppa joe to celebrate the last day.
My retirement practice will be shelved for another time. I have been diligently preparing two things: my “Grammy-do List” and a rough, but not regimented schedule of things to do with Goodnight for the summer.
It may sound strict, but I have banned (most) technology for the summer. She can listen to her radio, but the earphones are out. And the only ‘video’ game I will allow is her home version of Dance Dance Revolution because she actually has to dance a lot with that one. I LOVE DDR and I was good at it, but my knees don’t like it any more.
Children need fresh air and time to chill. That’s why I’m keeping in close contact with Lolly and Gag. But the bike tires are pumped and ready for our river rides.
Goodnight and I usually have some kind of ongoing tournament that will run the length of the summer.
We’ve got some fun things early on the schedule. In two days, we are going to a picnic/walk-a-thon for the group that sponsors events for grandparents raising families. Goodnight will get to see some of the same children that were with us at the winter camp this year.
And then the next Saturday, I am taking Goodnight to a family ball. And a real ball it is! We can either dress formally, or in our favorite character from the Wizard of Oz. Goodnight is very excited about this since we are reading the entire series this summer. How did the timing work out on this one? Or could it be that Gram does really good homework? Methinks there will be a lot of little Dorothys and ruby slippers in attendance.
The week after that is our local neighborhood festival and I will take her there for the afternoon.
Volunteering for VBS is still on. The local Farmer’s Market Opens soon and there are free weekly concerts in the park.
One of our summer activities has always been playground hopping. Goodnight may be growing out of that stage soon, but she still loves some time on the monkey bars and after all these years together, we have our favorite places to spend some time.
I’ll still be posting, but it won’t be every day.
Schedule
Music Mondays (I’ll be giving Goodnight piano and keyboard lessons – with Dinner by Alphabet to continue as well.)
Tech Tuesdays (I will help Goodnight with computer skills.)
Watercolor Wednesdays (I found a book of 13 watercolor lessons. Last year I gave Goodnight a portable eisel. I think she’ll enjoy setting up the eisel and working through the painting lessons.)
Thinking Thursdays (To prevent what they call ‘learning loss’ over the summer.)
Field Trip Fridays (Yup! Starting tomorrow!)
Sleepover Saturdays (Oh heck no . . . . not every week.)
Sunday is church and our typical library day.
Grammy-do List
Eye appointments
Doctor appointments (check-ups)
Dental appointments
Paint the fence.
Clean lint from dryer vent (Eighteen feet of fuzzy fun!)
Clean the garage.
Build a new tool rack for garage.
Re-screen the screen doors. (I love that job and Goodnight likes this kind of thing, too.)
Paint the front and back doors.
Vacuum the HVAC vents.
Wash the windows.
Empty cupboards, wash the shelves, put stuff back . . . .
Move kitchen appliances and scrub floors behind them.
Level a couple of the patio blocks that have sagged.
I’m sure there will be more . . . .
We’ll have lots of time with Gr8 in and around Smalltownville.
All of the above will happen while we wait for Goodnight’s passport to arrive. If that goes through without a hitch and comes in a timely fashion, we’ll find something to do in August.
I am NOT going to be at home today – on my last day of retirement internship. If I’m there, I may get the urge to . . . . rearrange the furniture or something stupid like that. (Not that rearranging the furniture is stupid, but it would be stupid for me to do on my last day ‘off.’
So . . . . let the real summer vacation begin! It’s a fine line, isn’t it? Finding things that Goodnight is old enough to do, but that I’m not too old to do . . . . .
