Some Sum-summertime

Oh, hey summer.

(It might be illegal to pick a dogwood flower?)

School’s out, and my bloggy productivity has plunged accordingly. The kids have been doing some camp, so I’ve had a little time to myself, actually, but I just can’t focus.

I’ve been taking it all in.

It’s nice to surrender to the rhythm of doing less. Or, doing plenty, but less of it indoors.

For example, we’ve been to the pool a bunch. Sometimes we swim, sometimes we just stare pensively into the middle distance and hope Mom will forget about swim team practice.

She never forgets.

My girl and I went to see the Indigo Girls in concert, me for a sixth time, her for a first. So much gorging on treats, so much wild twirly dancing. Quite a little tearing up on my part to be genuinely enjoying such a fun, friendsy activity with my kid. Absolutely no arguing. (Whew!)

And a little resting, too.

We’ve been hanging on the back porch grilling many foods, sitting in the shade powering through novels, biking endless loops around the block.

Crashing out for the occasional nap.

I did one workish project this June, which was to prepare two acts for the late night adult variety show at a local theater. Which kind of reads like something involving pasties, as I look at it (“And for the second act I’ll be using rollerskates!”)

But my contributions were relatively tame, I assure you. I wrote a tiny play called “Catty Corner” and cast it with a few of the extremely fine comedic actresses who are thick on the ground in my hometown, plus me because I was the director and could do whatever I wanted. I don’t have video to share, but a backstage costume shot will suffice to give you the flavor.

My friend Mikey did an awesome silent cameo that brought the house down.

I do have a video link for the song I arranged and performed. The song, one of my old-time favorites, is “Witness,” by Shannon Worrell. I worked out four background lines using my rudimentary “piano skills,” then recorded myself in GarageBand while sitting at the kitchen table with the windows open. My favorite thing about the finished product is all the birdsong the mic picked up. For the performance, I sang the lead live over the recorded background. It made me feel about as exposed and vulnerable, and therefore gut-churningly nervous, as anything I’ve ever done. I almost backed out after a disastrous rehearsal. But a good friend lent me the insight that allowed the show to go on: “Think of it like a pelvic exam. You don’t look forward to it, but you have to get it done because it’s good for you.” Laughter is also good for you.

http://vimeopro.com/firehorsepix/miller-susen

In a few weeks we’ll head out of town for our annual summer trip. I would call it our “vacation” but, based on past experience, there’ll be more crying than I typically associate with that word. The good, the bad, and the ugly of family travel, amirite? In the meantime I hope to bust out a little more writing, but only if I can fit it in around all the highly important hanging out.

Jump!