Okay, I know this is heresy, but I am not writing this summer.
This is my Summer of the Family.
In exactly nine days, my beloved son Michael, his wife Christiane, and my almost year-old granddaughter Cecilia will arrive from Berlin, Germany to spend 5 weeks here with me in our home.
While they are here, my other two daughters and families will come from New Mexico and California, so that all the sibs and grandkids can have time together, as we all join in the fun with the families already here in the area. Some of our Tucson family will come, too: my sis Nancy and husband Mike, my brother Frank, and maybe more.
We will do lots of eating, talking, hiking, swimming, and lounging about, with occasional trips to the zoo thrown in. All in all, it doesn't sound wildly exciting. But I am smiling, even as I write this. And though I have consciously decided to set aside my writing times this summer so that I might be totally present and ready for family enjoyment, I know the stories will be percolating in my head and heart, stories springing from this very family time together.
Perhaps I'll keep you posted via this blog. Stay tuned!
And may your summer be wildly creative, in some delightful way--be it family and friends, writing or sketching, surfing or rock-climbing.
Eyes open for blessing, hearts open too--let us seize the glory of these summer days.
