Mac and Fitz Speaks...: Summer Report...

Geez, did summer fly by,

or what?!

When summer vacation gets reduced by two weeks,

it makes a big difference...

The kids are back in school a week early this year

and they let out for the summer a week late,

so vacation was over in a blink...

August is when we visit the grandparents,

and given the choice to hang at the pool

or post blogs,

my absence of writing reveals my decision...

Now that I am back among my friends,

"Reality" and "Routine",

it is high time I submit a report

of what happened this summer...

1. Camps: I wish I was a kid solely because of the incredible summer camps that are offered now. The kids attended basketball, tennis, sewing, circus, golf, dance and overnight camps. Years ago, my choices for camps was park district camp and, um, park district camp. I would ride my bike down sixty-degree hills to get to the tennis courts by the river. In searing humidity, we would slog the tennis ball back and forth, trudging to the rusty water fountain every few minutes, before eating our mushy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Exhausted and minutes from heat stroke, I would pedal up those hills and through a huge cemetery, I might add, home... Good times...

2. Baseball: Starting with sleet, and ending in scorching heat, Jack's baseball team survived a long season of tough losses. There was not much to cheer about except that the field backed up against the best bar in Lincoln Square...

3. Floods: After a particularly torrential rain, my parent's basement filled with twelve inches of dirty water. While the event was a catalyst for parting with clutter, it was a messy, emotional situation. It is hard to see cherished items covered with mold and wet. Now their basement is cleared out and perhaps the positive feng shui is the silver lining...

4. Pies: Dang if I didn't get on a pie jag this summer! Apple, blueberry, shoo fly, lemon meringue were some of the gems my family enjoyed. Maybe that is why my clothes are too tight!

5. Florida: Every year we spend a few weeks visiting the grandparents in Florida. We are blessed to have such a fabulous place to relax and play. The great thing is that kids are now old enough to swim in the pool without hanging on me. After all, have you tried to hold a pina colada in the pool with a kid on your arm? It's a challenge! The kids made plenty of new friends at the pool, which gave me time to catch up on People Magazine...

6. Shrimp: Fernandina Beach is a big shrimping destination, so we filled up on as much good, fresh shrimp as possible. One day, we took a tour on an educational shrimping boat. They cast the big net three times and then unloaded the catch on a pan at the back of the boat, to show everyone what is caught in the estuaries of Southern Georgia... We saw tons of shrimp, puffer fish, gar, horse shoe crab, blue crab, and all kinds of fish... We were followed by a massive cadre of sea gulls, who feasted on the sea life the kids tossed their way...

7. Shark Teeth: This part of Florida seems to collect a large number of fossilized shark teeth on the beaches. For years, I have hunted them with ZERO success. One of my friends on the island can spot a tooth a mile away and I have watched her, with envy, snatch up five teeth in a two minute stroll on the beach. Those damn teeth eluded me until this year. Jack and I headed to the beach to search for shark teeth and to my amazing luck, I saw a gleaming, black tooth staring up at me, right away. I squealed with girlish glee and showed my prize to Jack. He was none too pleased at my finding a tooth before he did and he began to scan the sand with vigor. Within five minutes I found five more teeth! Jack looked like he was about to cry and I tried to console him, but inside I was so pumped about finally being able to "see" the teeth amongst the millions of shells in the sand. Soon, Jack found a tooth and then the race was on for him. All told, I found 30 shark teeth while on vacation, but Jack found 62. He beat his mom and I think that was more important than the actual discoveries. You do get addicted to searching them out; they gleam black and shiny, in their pointy T shapes...

8: New/Old Friends: Facebook is many things, good bad or otherwise, but sometimes you become reacquainted with people from your past. I'm not talking about old boyfriend hook ups, because that is never a good thing. An old high school classmate and I became friends, mostly through a mutual friend. Although I didn't know her well in high school, I began to like her over Facebook. She has a wicked sense of humor, which I prized, a really nice family, and the fact that she was friends with my old friend gave her instant street cred. Well, we decided to meet up over a weekend and it was so much fun. I feel like I made a really great new friend and to that I thank Facebook...

9: Food: I can't post without talking about good eats! I made this,