Good-bye Summer 2016

School started today, so it's good-bye summer and hello hectic days of grading papers, lesson plans, and general back-to-school chaos. 

It's been a great summer mostly because it's been a simple one. We didn't go anywhere exotic this summer or anywhere new. In fact, this is the first summer in a while we don't have tons of pictures of roadtrips and daytrips and new adventures.

The thing is, I'm okay with that. It was a wonderful summer of lazy days and lemonade; of Netflix and cuddling with Henry. We spent days in his sprinkler in the yard, days reading books, and days writing new books. We spent afternoons strolling around our hometown, evenings eating ice cream, and plenty of time sipping coffee. We relaxed, we slept in, and we lounged around in yoga pants most days.

We did have some milestone moments, too. We went to our 10-year high school reunion. I edited two novels and one story for an anthology. I wrote the draft of another book and started writing for The Huffington Post. We went to Ocean City, and we did some small activities around town. We went to a frisbee dog show at the beginning of summer, and Henry got to go swimming for the first time ever last weekend.

Mostly, though, we just spent our days soaking in extra time with each other.

Sometimes the best summers aren't about jamming them full of activities and wild times. Sometimes the best summers are the summers we spend in our familiar surroundings, doing the familiar, being with the familiar people (and pets) in our lives. 

So summer of 2016, I'll always be thankful for the simple moments we enjoyed.