Second Day

Today is the second day of summer vacation.

My body still woke up at 5:30.  That will begin to settle back to 6 or 6:30, and by the end of August, I’ll be sleeping in until 8:00.  But for now, I’m going to enjoy these quiet morning hours with my computer and a cup of coffee.  

Yesterday, I woke up early, showered, and headed to the store.  We needed dog food and I had to buy some snacks to bring to book club. It was my first day of summer vacation, and I was headed to my friend’s beach house in Maine for our June book club meeting.  What an awesome way to kick off summer! 

I felt a little guilty about leaving the kids alone for that long on their first day of summer vacation.  Cal and Lee would be fine.  But we have a new foster daughter.  She moved in on Friday.  That’s a long story for another day, but I especially didn’t want her to feel bored and abandoned while I was away for the day. 

I tried to set them up for a good day.  I made sure we had sandwich stuff and mac and cheese and plenty of snacks.  I put dinner in the crockpot.  I watered the plants and fed the dogs and emptied the dishwasher, just to increase the likelihood that I wouldn’t come home to a sink full of dishes.  

I counted the hours.  If I left at 10:30, Jack would probably be home by 2:30. Four hours.  That’s reasonable.  Two movies.  If we’re lucky, maybe a movie and a shower.  They would be fine.  Of course, it turns out I had nothing to worry about.  By the time I left at 10:30, all three of them were still asleep.  When I texted at noon, they were making mac and cheese. They all said they needed this day to lounge and do nothing.  I’m glad they got a chance to do that… and I’m glad it’s not what I did.

I had an absolutely incredible day at the beach.  The weather was perfect.  Sunny and warm, but not too hot.  We arrived around noon and had some snacks and some drinks before we moved our chairs to the water’s edge.  There were five of us this month, and all five of us have been part of book club since our very first meeting, over 16 years ago. I think it’s an amazing track record.  We actually met twenty years ago; we all taught fifth grade in the same school.  Four of them were classroom teachers, and I was the special educator on the team.  Only Faith still teaches in that school.

As evening approached, we stood on the sidewalk near a restaurant across from the beach, checking out a menu and trying to make a decision about dinner. A vaguely familiar voice said, “Hey, Faith!”  This former colleague stopped to make small talk and then took the rest of us in, one at a time.  You could see the brief moment of recognition when she noticed Cathie.  Her eyes widened and she smiled.  Then she shifted her gaze and recognized Joanne, Noelle, and me.  It was a strange, crazy, blast-from the past sort of moment, magnified by the fact that there were five of us that she hadn’t seen in nearly twenty years.  

Of course, it was nice to briefly connect with this former colleague.  We made small talk and wished each other well.  But it was a bizarre sort of moment for us, too.  It didn’t seem possible that we hadn’t seen that woman in 15 years, but that we hadn’t gone more than a month or two without seeing each other. 

What are the chances?  What keeps a group of friends connecting and meeting and caring about each other’s lives for twenty years?  Why do some people pass through our lives and some just drop their bags on the floor and settle and STAY with us? 

I am so incredibly grateful for the friendship of these five women.  I’m grateful that they’ve made this group a priority for nearly two decades.   Our families often joke about whether or not we’ve read the book.  And sometimes we get a little defensive because we really do read and discuss books.  We have a whole system for choosing the next book and finding discussion questions and sometimes we have really great, deep discussions.  And sometimes, we spend 4 minutes agreeing that the book wasn’t that great and 4 hours catching up on each other’s lives. 

I’m starting to realize that this group works because, deep down, we all see that the books are just a means to an end.  Sure, we like to read.  And we like to talk about books.  But most of all, we like each other.  We rely on each other’s advice and encouragement and wisdom.  We get together and we laugh and we cry and we hold each other up when things get tough.  What an incredible gift.  What a great way to kick off the summer.  

I came home feeling energized and relaxed and refreshed.  

And it was a good thing, too.  Because, of course, I needed that energy to remind the kids to handle that sink full of dishes.