Looking back at my last winter post, I realize that back then, I had no idea yet of what kind of mind-trip this weather would really turn out to be. With the warm weather coming early, our yard is an overgrown mess, and every cell in my body is screaming "SUMMER! Oh my gosh it's SUMMER!" even though we're not quite there yet. I mean, it's still April, for pete's sake.
I like spring, but I love summer. I love the long days, lazy evenings, and though I'm not an outdoors person (the outdoors makes me itch, I hate bugs, and I don't like being hot), I do enjoy porch and fire pit time. I like evening swim at the pool, and I love vacations. But I've found that the older I get, the endless summers that I remember as a kid are not at all endless. Summer is stupidly short (yet this does NOT mean I agree with my state's governor about kids not going to school until after the state fair..seriously? No, seriously?). Compouding that with the fact that I accidentally chose a career that requires me to work over the summer means that as lazy and wonderful as summer is, all that enjoyment and laziness requires some planning or it just turns into frustration and chaos.
So the other night, Andrew and I sat down with a calendar and a list. On the list, we added things to three columns: What we want to accomplish (mostly house projects), Where we want to go, and Who we want to see.
I'm not going to get too deep into the What we want to accomplish list. It was way, way, too long and full of boring, necessary things and some fairy tales. But I will mention some of the priorities - first, we need to fix the upstairs tub (I am SO sick of shaving my legs in the teensy downstairs shower). And we need to kill some knotweed. But what I'm super stoked about is that Andrew may have come over to my side, and is willing to get some estimates on my bright idea for 2012 - A FENCE! I am very excited about the fence, though we probably should be looking at spending that money on a new roof instead. I'm convinced that a fence is necessary and that outdoor living is a priority. And it will make me want to work in the yard (ha..haha). We will sit outside and drink sangria and stare at our lovely fence and all the flowers that I will have inevitably planted along this fence, and we can enjoy the lovely grass that will have grown in all the icky bald spots in our yard. I'm also convinced that once we have a fence, we will be inspired to build a DIY paver patio on the cheap in only 1 weekend. Andrew says that I have a very active imagination, but I also seem to posess great powers of persuasion.
Or, maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, and in my memories of last summer, all I can think of is how lovely it was to have constant work being done at our house, dust everywhere, and strange (as in stranger, though some were a little strange) men barging inside when I'm trying to get ready for work. I'm not sure. But I think I'd like a fence. And a patio. I'm already scoping out outdoor dining sets (who knew that IKEA has cheap outdoor dining sets? Ohhh, they think of everything, complete with an umlaut).
After we compiled our 75-item list of what needs to happen with the house, we had considerably shorter lists for trips we wanted to take (because we'd clearly be broke) and people we'd planned to see (because our friends seem to have scattered to the far corners of the planet). Then we plugged dates into the calendar to see what's left.
After all was said and done, we had 6 weekends open, which was awesome...and 4 people with whom we had yet to coordinate visits with. Andrew wants to visit his brother, we promised my Grandma we'd go out to Ohio for a visit, our friends from Chicago are (finally!) planning to visit, and Andrew's mom is totally due for a trip to see us. So, that's down to 2 weekends for all of these incredible DIY projects we'd planned. Whoops.
I'm not complaining, at least not truly. I love - no, LOVE! - being able to see our friends and family all summer. I love having guests. I love grilling out and entertaining, and our house being full of light and people, and I love watching our friends from home or cities see what we love about being in Iowa, where everything is calm, homey, tranquil and yet abundant and brimming with gorgeous weather, things to do, things to eat, and music to hear. And as much as part of me hates being away from home, I love to visit and see places that are familiar and foreign. So I really honestly can't wait for the "Where we want to go/who we want to see" part of summer.
But that to-do list...that crazy list. I have no idea when any of it is supposed to happen.
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