Summer Kick-off

The month of June is in full swing. Despite the fact it has been hot as blazes here in DC, we are enjoying the onset of summer. In contrast to the fairly uneventful summer we had last year while we were awaiting the arrival of Samantha, we have jammed as much as possible into these summer months. They consist of moving, summer camps, vacations, business trips and family reunions. This past weekend we held our first (and maybe our last) ever yard sale. Once a year our neighborhood organizes a yard sale weekend—we had never participated, but given that we’re packing up our house, we had a number of items to get rid of. My Grandma, Mom and friend Miriam, all decided they wanted to unload some junk as well. It was quite the shopping extravaganza here in Silver Spring.

I was pleased to see all my baby clothes and small appliances go, but why oh why didn’t anyone want my pink ceramic basket or personalized graduation picture frame? My Mom even got to part with her foot spa and cuckoo clock. We scoffed at my Grandma’s selling of several pairs of (new) pantyhose, but lo and behold, she sold them. I guess they were quite a deal if the color and size suited you. What I realized is that you need lots of different kinds of people for your yard sale to be a success. For the mélange of stuff you pick up throughout your lifetime through various travels and experiences, you need a diversity of people to fully appreciate your treasures. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anyone colorful enough to buy my stepdad’s eclectic collection of foreign art (particularly the one of topless African women) or Miriam’s bright red lacey lingerie (I think a gag gift to her).

Ella did the best business—that little entrepreneur sold lemonade. She was set up in the shade at the end of the driveway, and with the temperatures in the high 90’s, she was a success. For $.25 a cup, she raked in close to $10. (Of course I didn’t charge her the cost of materials, so it was all profit to her). She's still not totally sure what the big deal is about having money, but she still felt pretty proud of herself.

Another hallmark of June is the end of school. Today was Ella’s last day of pre-school for the year. We still have yet to decide whether she’ll return next year or head off to Kindergarten, but overall she had a good year. I’ve seen her blossom socially and take off academically. She is a smart cookie and we're so proud of her. She will miss her teacher, Ms. Soma and her class of friends. Fortunately, she'll see many of them at summer camp this summer.

Because today was a short school day, we took off to the park with some friends from class to enjoy a picnic lunch. Heat doesn't phase kids nearly as much as the adults--I think they could have gone all day running around.

We're already a third of the way through June and I look at all we have going on this month--

Saturday, we take off for a week at the beach, and lose Brian for several days as he heads off to take more depositions. I'll stick Ella in camp, pack up our house and we'll be off to Bethesda (more on that later). Phew...makes me tired just thinking about it.