Hi, remember me?

Summer fun.

That's the reason I have not been here. It's that simple.

Well, that and the yucky case of bronchitis that knocked a few productive weeks off my calendar. Nothing like too much time in bed to cure me of spending too much time on the computer.

We've camped in the high country of Yosemite, surrounded by the beauty of the trees and the cliffs and the creeks and the swimming holes and the alpine flowers. Talks with dear friends around the campfire and over the morning coffee, sleeping out on the rock with buddies, card games and hikes and general joy was the name of the game.

Then it was on to the bliss of the Oregon coast, our annual destination. California was still filled with smoke, so the blue sky and the stars at night and the feel of the forgotten rain on our faces was all a balm to our collective soul. We enjoyed friends, walked to Haystack Rock, heard good teaching on raising our family; we played tennis and read and built a sand sculpture and napped and ate salt water taffy and all the while stored up peace and rest for the hard-working days of the coming academic year.

And as soon as we returned from the northern coast, we began to see signs that it was approaching.

I've already had to put my Debate Mom Hat back on, taking one son to University of Santa Clara for a day of practice debates, and I've been down to that area of our state for a speech coach workshop as well. It's all just preparation for speech and debate club officially beginning in September, but I've enjoyed putting my toes in the shallow end of what will eventually be a marathon swim.

I always try to have a clear path in my mind for the school year, but this year I wanted to have something more substantial. I was able to spend a whole day alone to get things charted out, and I loved having the time to stare out the window, the privacy to mutter aloud, and the inspiration to get some good ideas organized. I'll write more about what I have planned in a future post.

For now, we have a small window of time before we jump in to the swirl. A few more chances for overnight visiting with friends, a computer to fix here and a closet to clean there, and we will be ready to start school on September 1st.

Thanks for your emails while I was playing. I look forward to being back in the blogosphere.