so long sweet summer

Time did that thing it always does: fly. And here I am staring fall in the face, while still sweating in the 100 degree temps.  This weekend was a good chance to stop and put things on hold for a bit and I really tried not to worry about all the work I need to do for my classroom (we have parent night on Thursday, eek), all the reading I need to do for grad school (yeah, that started back up this week) and all the ‘stuff’ I always feel like I need to be doing (keeping the house clean, laundry, eating a halfway decent meal).  Mark and I went separate ways for the long weekend - he went to visit college friends at the lake, while I stayed home and hosted college friends who were visiting Dallas.  Two of my best girlfriends stayed with me for a night, and we got to all get ready for the night together {just like in the DG house}, catching up while we curled our hair and did our makeup, wondering aloud who would get married next, have kids next, or just stay the same.  On Saturday, we got to meet baby Hadley, and then watch the Texas game together on a {hot} patio.  But the best part was when we all stayed up until one in the morning, sipping wine, eating bon bons (literally) and just being together.  Times with friends like that are harder to come by these days, when we all live in different cities and have to, you know, go to work every day.

Now I have the Sunday Blues on a Monday night, anxious about a paper I need to write for grad school and a presentation I need to put together for parent night, and it reminds me of the same anxieties I would have at UT, when I was juggling classes and jobs and the social calendar of a college student.  It’s not that I’m worried I won’t get it all accomplished - I know it will all get done - but I still have that little nagging feeling that I should be reading or studying right now, not watching a game on TV or going out to dinner with Mark.  If I’m awake, I should be being productive, right?  At least folding some laundry or unloading the dishwasher?  But I tell myself it can wait until tomorrow.  For now, it’s all on hold.

First Day of School

It’s the first day of school!

I haven’t been this excited {slash nervous} for the first day since I was in elementary school.  Today our little first graders come to school for our first day together.  Yesterday was Meet the Teacher, so I got to meet almost all of them and their parents, and I can tell we are going to have a great bunch.

For example, a conversation I had today with two little Firsties:

Me: So, what did you do this summer?

#1: I went to Orlando.  We went to four different places at Disney World: Downtown Disney, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom and Blizzard Beach.

Me: Wow, that sounds fun! What about you, {#2}?

#2: I went to Paris.  But we couldn’t go all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower because the elevators were broken.

Me. Oh. That’s a bummer!

Clearly, they had way cooler summers than I did! 

To celebrate my first First Day, here’s yours truly in first grade:

My mom made that dress :)

And, the First Day of School, through the years:

Heading off to second grade, sixth grade, senior year and college!

Beach Days

We are packing our bags and heading to the beach this weekend, for a short trip with my family.  I grew up going to Galveston each summer, spending a week in a rented beach house on the gulf coast with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins galore.

We stay out on a part of the island that doesn’t have a road or bridge going to it, so we get to take the ferry out across.  I’ve rode this ferry dozens of times.  It’s always fun to guess what color we’ll end up on, as they have many boats and all are painted different colors.  When I was younger, it was major bragging points if you guessed the color right.

{that’s me in the pink, with the wind blown hair}

In honor of our last summer trip, Mark and I went to Old Navy last night and bought some new beach duds for our trip.  You bet I’ll be rocking American flag PJ pants all weekend.

See you soon, beach.  See you soon.

Girls in White Dresses

I just finished reading Girls in White Dresses, by Jennifer Close, which captured life of an almost-thirty-year-old (gasp) perfectly. Following a group of girlfriends from college into their late 20's, I found myself relating to their years of bridal showers, baby showers, break-ups, job changes, those friendships that stayed strong and those that fell apart.  I read it on my Kindle, so I highlighted several passages as I went along that made me think, ohmygosh, yes. this is so my life.  Last night, after I had finished the book, I went back and read everything I had highlighted.  This passage from when one of the characters was visiting BC, where she had gone to school, pretty much sums up exactly how I feel whenever I go back to Austin.  That feeling of homesickness I get from just being in that city, the nostalgia that pulls at my heart when the UT tower first comes into view as I drive into town.  It makes me wish I didn't have to "grow up" --

It made her sad to think they'd never be back there again, never bounce from bar to bar drinking and dancing just because they could, just because they should.  It wasn't that she wanted to be in college again, exactly.  No, she just missed it sometimes, the aftermath of those nights out, inexplicable bruises and lost wallets, phone numbers being requested, make-outs with near strangers in crowded bars.  

I don't want to be in college again, not exactly.  I love where I am now - with my husband, my friends, my house, my life.  But there is a part of me that wants to go back to being in school, where I lived with my best friends, slept late everyday, and never had to worry about actually cooking a meal.  If you are in your post-college life and still manage to live like you're in school... props to ya.