Summer Stack #2

...creating a foundation for a memorable summer season

~Nearly every square on my June calendar has something on it. Something to do, somewhere to be, someone to see. These are all good and necessary things, many of them in preparation for next month’s visit from my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. We’ve had a furniture delivery, a piano tuning, an oven repair, a whole house carpet cleaning. Windows will be washed, tickets will be purchased, more appointments will be made. Food will be cooked and stored in the freezer for fast meals and snacks. It’s all so very good, and in anticipation of an event we look forward to all year long.

~Busy bee that I am these days, I’m still excited about my reading plans. Summer reading is deeply ingrained in my childhood memories and is, paradoxically, somehow more leisurely and intentional than my reading at any other time of the year. I’ve been reading off my own shelves for a while now, going back to the novels I’ve loved and saved over the past five decades of life. Choosing them feels a bit like pulling tarot cards - perusing the shelves and waiting for them to call out to me. Here’s the stack I chose over the weekend, just ready and waiting for the rain to stop so I can settle into my chair on the deck with a cold beverage. I’m sure there’s a message in each one of these, something that resonates differently this time around.

~The flowers are coming along after a rocky start. I’m feeling encouraged. They make me smile every time I see them. I get lots of compliments from neighbors walking by as well, and that makes me happy. I think we’re all hungry for Beauty these days; we need to be uplifted, and nature is one of the surest ways to experience it. My mission in life to be one who appreciates it, but also creates it, even if it’s just in my own backyard. Maybe especially in my own backyard.

~Speaking of uplift, participating in the No Kings protest on June 14 was an exhilarating experience for me. Standing for two hours with thousands of others along the streets of my hometown, showing up to defend our democracy, our ideals of liberty and justice along with basic human rights for everyone (no matter their country of origin) was a powerful way to make a statement about what I consider important for our time and for the future. I’m looking forward to the next opportunities at events on July 4 and July 17.

~I’ve been riding the high of that day, hoping it can be a counterweight to the horror of politically motivated violence and new threats of (another!!) war in the Middle East. The idea of basic human decency is on my heart and mind right now. It’s a value definitely under-practiced in the current leadership of this nation. I have a t-shirt that says: Being a good human matters. More than ever, I say; and to do that very thing is a big part of my personal mission for the living of all these days.

So how about you? What’s keeping you busy? Where are you noticing and/or creating beauty in your world? What’s exhilarating and uplifting? I’d love to know.