A Midway Reflection on a Midlife Summer
Issue #59
Special thanks to and
for inspiring this post about summer. You can read Annelise’s version here and Krista’s here.This is the Summer…
This is the summer of my first-ever fun car. Of taking it to the drive-in movie theater, of filling it with plants on Father’s Day, of turning up the music even louder. It’s the summer of feeling guilty when someone says they like it because am I even allowed to have this much fun in a car? And wondering at the same time if owning this car means I’m old.
This is the summer of thinking about numbers too much. How my oldest daughter is now the age I was when I gave birth to her (23), how my second oldest daughter is the age I was when I got married (21), and how I’ve now been married longer than I’ve been not married (25). It’s the summer of trying to carry the first 46 years with grace before turning 47.
This is the summer of staying inside. Of flies in the kitchen and wearing skorts (really, skorts?) and quick dry t-shirts. Of not kayaking and not bike riding like I did last year because it’s so hot and humid, of spurning my treadmill as a poor replacement. Of saying to my teenager, who is also stuck inside: “no more screen time, go read a book” and then later that night falling asleep with my face against my phone (confession of a professional insomniac).
This is the summer of abundance from our tiny, little garden plot. The showy hibiscus in the morning, the hydrangeas that finally bloomed after years of nothing, and the mango hot poker plant that’s new to the garden this year. It’s the summer of cherry tomatoes in all shades of red, yellow, orange, and…black (black!), and our first ever zucchini harvest.
This is the summer of admitting to myself that my youngest child is a full-on teenager. Of taking her out for driving practice (but not in the Beetle, thank you very much), of her saying, “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you” then wondering Does she mean letting her drive the car or letting her grow up? Of her many jobs: babysitting, bunny sitting, cat sitting and plant sitting. Of watching her write stories, draw in her sketchbook, and edit this newsletter. It’s the summer of liking this smart, witty, thoughtful person so much.
This is the summer of remembering past summers. Remembering the smell of chlorine and goldfish at the community pool, how we cheered each child on as they tried to pass the swim test, how the baby slept pressed against me in a sling. Remembering playdates that started at 10am and lasted past bedtime, summer reading challenges at the library and knowing that I’m looking back through the rose-colored glasses of time.
This is the summer of a new kind of summer with one high schooler and one college student at home (and two already out of the house), of my people going this way and that way, of no day the same as the day before. It’s the summer of one-on-one time with the two younger kids that I never had with the older two. It’s a house that’s quiet, too quiet, until one by one they each show up and suddenly…we’re all back together again.
What about you? I’d love to hear what kind of your summer you’re having in the comments.
From the Sketchbook
This is the summer of a romance between a cat named Chirp and my daughters’ shoes.
Continue the Journey
With aging on my mind a lot lately, I often think about something Kate Bowler once said that flipped the whole aging thing on its head. Kate, who came very close to losing her life to cancer several years back, said she had little patience for listening to complaints about aging. “Aging is a privilege”. On my good days I can remember that even with a droopy eyelid, crazy hormones, chronic pain and more. Each day may not be perfect but each day is a privilege. Here’s a Blessing for Aging Gracefully by Kate Bowler.
My friend
wrote a lovely post about lessons we can learn from children both in faith and in life. And if you live in Nashville, check out her offerings for Spiritual Direction in the same post.I nodded throughout this piece by writer and illustrator
. She wrote about the fear she experienced when she realized that the deck man was almost to her house and he might *gasp* catch her reading! A Woman Reading vs A Man Powerwashing.And finally, fellow writer and artist
put together a feast of creative links in her newsletter last week. (She was kind enough to include my ISH post in the collection).
Blessings from the Guest Nest,
-Aimee
P.S.—Part of our family is preparing to go on an international trip this week so most likely I will skip the next newsletter. See you after the break!
Thanks so much for reading, sharing, and contributing to the conversation. You can support my art and writing by donating to my art supply fund and by sharing this newsletter with friends who might enjoy it.
I LOVE seeing glimpses of your art and life and how integrated they are! The tomatoes! The hydrangeas!!! All of it!!!! I can’t wait to read the power washer piece. The amount of embarrassment/guilt I feel when someone comes to our front door and can see me laying on my couch is…well, embarrassing.
Really enjoyed reading this, and all the garden pictures! I’m missing my flowers this year — I just couldn’t get them planted in time. But those hydrangeas 😍