Summer 2009

Ah, the Summer of 2009…fun in the sun, fog, rain and clouds. After a whirlwind visit with Erna in Williamsburg and then with my family in Baltimore, which included a fabulous cookout at Maija’s house (thanks for coming, everyone!), we spent almost the entire summer up on Nantucket, reconnecting with friends, playing lots of tennis, riding bikes, doing yoga, motoring in Jared’s mid-life crisis motorcycle side car, enjoying beach picnics which featured digging ever bigger holes and jumping off of the lifeguard chair.

Some highlights include playing in a mixed doubles tournament with brother, Richard. Having not played tennis together since last year, we did pretty well, completing 8 sets in one day. We finally got beaten in a three-set match, which ended as we were due at a cocktail party. Such are the delights of summer fun. I bought myself a bike, called The Commuter. It had a huge, comfy seat, and I could ride for hours without my derriere feeling a thing. I rode into lots of yoga classes and was feeling quite fit by the end of the summer.

We also tried to eat more healthy foods. Thanks to buddy Batia, I opened my pallet to beets for the first time since childhood and was sure I had contracted Cancer by the evening when my pee turned red!

The kids really enjoyed new-found freedom this summer. We extended our living room to include most of the village of Sconset, so Sam could ride all over to visit his various friends. Sophia spent another summer in the public park’s tree, fighting off strangers who dared to want to climb “our” tree. Richard’s girls came up again and the four cousins had a blast riding waves, creating and performing plays, riding up to the lighthouse on their own, and learning how to be independent.

It was a truly American small town summer: from the 4th of July bike parade replete with games in the church yard to a festival of lights in which we all partook by dancing in the streets, to attending the church and the old folk’s home fairs, where $20 got the kids two hours of fun, to Sophia sewing her own 1800’s style “poppet”, to homemade lemonade stands and walkie talkies serving as babysitting.

As always seems to happen in summer, I turned a year older and Sophia helped me celebrate by helping to organize a luncheon surprise party. Although I knew about the actual party, I was surprised when it actually occurred, as Sam, in his attempt to lure me into the living room had to resort to telling me he smelled smoke in the living room. I raced in and, thanks to my crappy eye sight, I saw flames behind the front door. As I began to panic, I noticed the group of faces smiling at me and a cake being held by a friend behind the door. After I got my heart to stop racing we had a lovely party, with entertainment by Sophia, in her Nantucket cheerleading dress. One of the cheers went something like this: Mommy works up high, Mommy works down low. Mommy works all the time….GOOOOOOOOOO MOM!!” I do tend to do more housework in the summer, as we have to leave behind our lovely maid in Abu Dhabi. The kids are not used to hearing me yell at them to clean up their rooms and take their dishes in and put their clothes away. I think we are all glad to be returning to normalcy!
Other highlights included a trip to Great Point and a climb up the lighthouse, a boat ride over to Toppers restaurant in Wauwinet, Sam and Sophia’s first real bike rides To Krisi’s house into the biggest wind of the summer, getting a pedicure and a drink at the Chicken Box with my GIRLFRIENDS, and being a witness to my Goddaughter Katrina’s baptism!

As I write this, we are sitting in the airport restaurant in Frankfurt, chowing down on Nurnbuger sausages. So much for the healthy foods of Nantucket. The countdown is on for schoolyear 2009-10. Stay tuned…