Oh Summer, you flew by so fast.
Actually, scratch that. You stayed way too long, as you are apt to do in Georgia.
I meant to do a handful of blog posts over the past few months, but my good intentions never materialized into actual action, which is why I'm just now sitting down to write this summer post.
I'm still hoping that eventually these blog posts will become a semi-regular thing, just like I'm hoping that keeping a daily journal will become a regular thing. Cue maniacal laughter.
June always starts with the annual family beach vacation, which is eight adults, two teenagers, and three children, crammed into two condos, for one week. Mostly it's fun, but the introvert in me usually needs a vacation after the vacation, if you know what I mean.
I take very long walks in the afternoons which seems to help.
Saint Augustine Beach
I also pack a lunch every morning, so I can stay on the beach while everyone else heads up to the condos around noon. Which is the only time I have to get my uninterrupted beach reading done.
And even though I always say I'm not going to do any writing during my vacation time, I always end up writing into the night after everyone has fallen asleep, or sneaking away to a coffee shop for the afternoon.
A writer's mind is never on vacation.
As soon as vacation is over, I'm ready for summer to be over. I cannot stand the sweltering heat and humidity of Georgia and when I leave the beach I am already counting the days to Fall.
But this summer was not without its perks. For many months, I had been looking to add a furry companion to my life. Since I have animal allergies (Lord, why did you do this to me?), my choices were limited as to the type of dog I could bring into my home. So after many months of research, I decided that a Yorkie would fit my lifestyle pretty nearly perfectly.
I searched for nearby reputable breeders while I was on vacation, just on a whim, and found one less than an hour away who said I could come see her litter the next day.
And wouldn't you know it, I fell totally in love.
Saint Augustine, a.k.a. "Auggie"
But I mean, who wouldn't? Just look at the way that one ear flops down. And those tiny paws, and those puppy eyes. I knew I was in big trouble almost immediately.
I had an entire list of literary inspired names prepared to choose from, but commemorating the place I found him (St. Augustine) carried a lot of sentiment and Auggie just had the nicest ring to it.
I said I would be back the next day to pick him up, then I went to Petco and bought half the store just to transport him home.
So the summer of 2016 has really been the summer of bonding between me and my fur baby.
As far as my writing goes, I always have this naive idea that summer will be my most productive season. A holdover, I think, from my school years when the summer months signaled a reprieve from classes and homework.
But of course, it never works out that way, and I never learn my lesson. So instead of adjusting my expectations, I continue to look at summer all starry eyed in June and wind up giving it the stink eye by August.
I'm currently in the 5th (or is this the 6th?) rewrite of After Ever, and I am very, very pleased so far. This will most likely be the final draft, and that both thrills and terrifies me. But we will get into all of that later.
For now, just enjoy a few more pictures of my ridiculously adorable pup as I bid adios to summer.
