On Summer, Part 1

Hi, pals. Love to you from my go-to coffee shop, where I am happily surrounded by lists, scraps of paper, and essays that need a little love.

Today is the beginning of a new season, a clearing away of the last, a list-making, laundry-folding, vegetable-eating day. For the next week or so, I'll try to catch you up on both this last lovely season and also what's to come, in a rambling and random series of updates on a hundred million things at least. 

We'll start here:

We’re home again after a truly fantastic month at the lake.  I love it there, as you know, as evidenced by the fact that I routinely post several pictures a day of the water, the pier, the blueberry cobbler, the farmer’s market, the boys, sandy and full of sunshine.  Everywhere I look, summer in full bloom.

You don’t realize how slow and lovely the pace of life is in that sleepy lakeshore town until you leave, and I’m telling you: it’s different there. I’ve been back home for just about 24 hours, and it’s more than apparent: it’s different there. Different in a wonderful way, in a “sandy feet all day, ice cream for dinner, no makeup and no high heels” kind of way.  Love, love, love. 

The boys are at such fun ages—Mac took his first step at the park on a Sunday night a few weeks ago, and that seems especially sweet to me because Henry learned to walk in South Haven as well. To be clear, Mac isn’t walking by any means, but every so often he stands on his own and then lurches forward with one or two clumsy, awkward steps before plopping back down to his knees and speeding away. 

His favorite things to eat are (in order): sand, paper, and blueberries. He also likes waffles, frozen peas and yogurt, but he shovels in sand by the fistful and will crawl, lightning-fast, across a room for a piece of paper that’s fallen on the floor and then stuff as much of it into his mouth as he can before we get to him. Also, a little known fact: too many blueberries will not only yield a shocking blue diaper, but will actually stain those little baby buns bright blue. Or so I’ve heard.

Henry swims like a fish, and he especially loves swimming in the big waves with Aaron or my dad. He loves to color, and he’s in a hardcore dinosaur phase. He’ll go to kindergarten this fall, and he’s totally ready, but I predict big-sad-happy-can’t-believe-it tears from me on that day. Kindergarten? Practically a man! 

Summit & MOPS Convention

We’re back just in time for The Leadership Summit next week—it’s always an amazing collection of talented, smart people, and I always scribble pages and pages of notes that I come back to all year long. For the first time, I’m missing the second day of the Summit, because I’ll be in Dallas speaking at the MOPS Convention, a keynote on Friday night and a workshop on Saturday morning. 

I’ve never been to the MOPS Convention, but I have spoken at many, many, many MOPS groups. What I love about MOPS is that mothering little ones can be so isolating and so hard, and MOPS exists to connect mothers, to give them spaces and places to tell their stories, share their challenges, walk well together. I’m all about that, of course. My friendships with other women and other moms are what get me through on the hardest days of mothering, and I’m so thankful for organizations like MOPS for helping moms to get connected all over the country and all over the world.

CC Garage & Bake Sale

If you’re local, mark your calendar for the First Annual Cooking Club Garage Sale & Bake Sale. We’re baking up a storm, cleaning out our closets and basements, and giving all the money we make to our church’s Care Center. Come see us on September 15th—there will be yummy treats and all sorts of stuff for sale, all for a great cause. Details to follow.

In the next couple weeks, I’ll update you on Bread & Wine, post a few highlights from London & Paris, tell you about a few books I've loved recently, and a billion assorted other things, I promise. But first, a grocery list and approximately a thousand loads of sandy laundry…