Getting Away

Like most kids growing up my favorite time of year usually was Christmas, for obvious reasons. Gifts, gifts, gifts -- and more gifts. Being out of school for a month didn't hurt either.

Now that I'm grown (at least according to my birthday count), my favorite time of year has changed. I still love Christmas, for most of the reasons listed above. But the May-June-July-August swing, particularly May-June-July, has become my favorite time of the calendar.

Since going to work at ETBU eight years ago this coming June 1, I really have come to love the summer months. The kids are out of school, and knowing how much they enjoy their vacation also takes me back to the good old days. I am married to a teacher, too, so I know she will be around. And no matter how much I try to hide it sometimes because its just masculine to do so, I don't have as much fun doing anything if my wife isn't there. She's my friend and my comfort zone. There is a certain amount of emptiness, of something missing, when she's not around. So having her resting and enjoying the summer at home with the kids is very refreshing for me as well.

Anyway, summer at ETBU also means no students, which means absolute zero activity on campus. There are some summer church camps, and some summer sports camps, but I have basically nothing to do with any of them. So I go to work, sit in my little office and write blogs. Or listen to music/talk shows on the Internet. The 8-hour day drags and drags and drags and drags...

But summer is also the perfect time for vacation. Got a little taste of the freedom that comes from being away this past weekend, when for the first time this year the whole family got to load up and go to one of Coby's baseball tournaments. We spent the weekend in McKinney, and the Stix were playing up one age level against 11-year-olds but actually came out of Saturday's pool games as the top seed. Lost in the semis on Sunday, but that just meant we got home at a decent hour. We had already accomplished quite a bit for the boys during the tournament, and we are playing really well right now.

But the highlight for me again was that we finally had the girls with us. Jeannie hadn't been able to come on an overnight trip this year, which began back in March. We got to load up in the car and stay overnight in a hotel, with a dinner at Ralph and Kacoos... top notch. For those worried about our weight loss competition, we had grilled catfish and shrimp.

The kids were thrilled about being in the hotel room, as all kids usually are. Abby also had a quick night without much of a nap during the day, so she was altogether pleasant when it was time to go night-night.

Got up, played a couple of games on Sunday, then had a nice quiet drive through the country on the way home. Sometimes in life, you just want to get off the interstate and enjoy the calmness of country, right? I took the back way home and it took a couple more minutes but it was worth it.

Vacation time is great for all of us. We are kicking around a few more ideas of what to do with our time this summer. We've got Coby's World Series coming up in July, so that will take one week away. We also hope to take a quick trip down to Houston, maybe, or Galveston, or someplace like that. Don't really know, we'll probably decide to go somewhere on a whim. But at least we have the free time to have that option during the summer.

Also want to take the girls camping -- Jeannie's not much on the outdoors, though. But she won't stay at home by herself either, so I always have that card to play.