I'm back! (Actually, I just took a short break from posting here...I needed to blow off a little steam at the Cafe blog last week). And according to my calendar and the Facebook updates of my friends with children, summer is pretty much over. Which kinda sucks...
And I know I am dating myself by mentioning this, but one of my favorite assignments from the first week of school was the summer recap essay: "What I Did During My Summer Vacation". I also enjoyed writing book reports, but children's books read to the Baby Niece do not count...
Alas, there will not be a desk or locker with my name taped to it come September, but I thought it would be fun to write the Busy Black Woman's version of that same essay, presented here as a Top Ten List:
1. Walking through the Alumnae Arch - To everyone who does not know this, I LOVE visiting my alma mater, and this year, I went down for a meeting and had the opportunity to participate in the Reunion/Graduation activities. No, I did not get a ticket to see Mrs. Obama as the commencement speaker (that would have been the cherry on top), but I did get to walk through the Alumnae Arch while carrying my class flag! This was a very big deal because it was not even my Reunion year. I also got to connect with a few of my classmates, and I got to see some sisters I had not seen in 17 years! The downside was the unfortunate photo of my puffy, "ugly cry" face...I started bawling less than five feet away from the Arch and that is when someone snapped the photo. But the best part about that day was standing on the opposite side of the Arch to greet the new alumnae-to-be as they came through!
2. The Sade show - This was THE show of the summer, and I am so glad that we had a chance to go (normally I would have missed an event like this due to some BBW meeting). In spite of the rain, the traffic to Baltimore, the parking lot craziness, and a whole lot of other drama, I don't think I enjoyed a live show more! My only complaint--someone please tell John Legend that his back-up singers can sing and wear clothing at the same time.
3. The Busy Black Woman Happy Hour - I will not go into all of the doubts I had before hosting this event, but let's just say that a good time was had by all, and in a few weeks, the next event will be announced!
4. Baseball games at National's Park - Please do not tell the husband because I'll end up spending all of next summer at baseball and/or softball games, but I had a great time at the two games I attended. And thankfully, we won both times, so that was pretty cool. As for softball, those were cool too...when they won.
5. Growing tomatoes and watching the rabbits - So I reconnected with my green thumb and got a little dirt under my nails. But in true BBW fashion, I did not have time to start anything from seed, so my gardening consisted of repotting, fertilizing and watering the plants. And because the husband is sick of me saying this every single time we have salad, the tomatoes are DELISH! I will eventually get around to posting a few photos at the Garden Cafe blog, if for no other reason than to prove that I actually did grow tomatoes this year. As for the rabbits, it has become something of a daily ritual for me to watch them frolic in the yard during my lunch hour. It is quite fascinating, but I am also keeping a watch in case I have Peter Rabbit on my hands.
6. Dancing with the Baby Niece - We have had a ball all summer, but she is especially hilarious when dancing. She and I took to the dance floor at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, where she definitely enjoyed twirling in the World Music tent. She was not so sure about ballet class (although she really liked the loaner shoes she got to wear). Two weekends ago I handed her my phone to hold while the Pandora station was playing and let's just say that the lil Mama went for it with a series of Bill-Cosbyesque contortions. Look out Alvin Ailey, my baby is a dancer!
7. My Adult Niece's Big Fat Puerto Rican-Greek bridal shower - I just had my first proud "Elder" Auntie moment, complete with another ugly cry (becoming quite the cry baby in my old age) and disbelief that in a few weeks, she'll be a married woman! It will only be worse at the Big Fat Puerto Rican-Greek wedding.
8. Networking - Thanks to this blog, Twitter, and my newfound determination to meet new people, I have been taking baby steps outside of my comfort zone. I will elaborate on this at another point, but I am a closet introvert (really) and will avoid social situations if not accompanied by a friend or the husband. But I am getting bolder, and I've met some really cool people, so I am looking forward to how this all develops.
9. Crabs - In these parts, there ain't nothing like a crab fest, and I have had the pleasure of enjoying two so far. There was the trip to St. Michaels I recounted a few weeks ago, and then there was the invitation by our other married-without-children friends to travel up to Baltimore for the annual family fest this past weekend. The crabs were great, the husband and I both received gifts, and after a few drinks I might have agreed to check out a gun club (which, if you really know me, is so totally uncharacteristic).
10. Stay-cation/Vacation - This is the part that is still a work in progress, so technically that makes this a top nine list. I desperately need a vacation--I went postal on a police officer today and that was not a good idea. The truth is, I have enjoyed certain aspects of the summer, but there has been something missing, and it could be that I really need a beach or a poolside for sun and lounging. I need to actually finish one of these magazines that I have subscriptions to, or better yet, I need to read a BOOK! So even if I only get as far as the local pool for a few hours, I need to decompress before September.
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