The Smells of Summer

When you’re a teacher, you can feel summer coming in your weary bones. Toward the end of a school year, all you have to do is give another teacher a certain look and they’ll report how many days or weeks are left, in an effort to help you both hang on. There are distinct smells of summer for me. Jasmine, pool chlorine, chilled chardonnay. Ocean air, sunscreen, sandy Cheez-its. I can almost get a whiff already if I try hard enough.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my job. I work very hard all year. I’m a teacher through and through. I love my college students to pieces and go above and beyond all limits of the job description to open their minds, mentor them, motivate them, help them grow. I also have a consulting business, which I enjoy but consumes a great deal of time and energy and requires travel at times. Add to that the last seven months of book promotion and weekly blogging and you’ve got one frayed, depleted, wife and mother who’s feeling out of balance and disconnected from the most important people in her life. But… the smells of summer are getting stronger every day.

I’ve been teaching for 22 years, so it’s odd that the change always takes me by surprise right about now. Still, I feel it happening, and it’s like that first breath after you’ve been underwater for as long as you can stand it. I’m slowing down. Taking care of the things I couldn’t when I had to keep the hamster wheel spinning at top speed. My desk is completely clear of the piles that covered every inch of it for months. I’m thinking about making long overdue dentist and mammogram appointments. The clumps of clothes that spilled over the edges of shelves in my closet are now organized into neatly folded stacks. And you would be amazed by how clean my refrigerator now is, completely free of all expired items, some of which dated back to early 2012. Please don’t judge. We all do the best we can, right?

When you’re a mom, you can see the signs that summer is coming in your children too. They’re unusually giddy. And just like those teacher friends, you can ask one of your kids at any moment how many days are left and they’ll be able to provide the answer with stunning accuracy. Another sign is that when you inquire about what they did at school, one of the answers will be, “We watched a movie.” Every day! If they’re in middle or high school, this can happen in so many classes you might think you sent them to film school and forgot. And these are not educational films. Apparently those were all used up already. The last two my sixth grader watched in class were Ratatouille and Cars. Really? Okay, I guess being a teacher myself I understand. And I don’t have to teach kids. Those teachers are truly saints in my book. When it comes to the smells of summer that come to mind when I think of my kids, I have to be honest and hope some of you can relate. Because they’re pre-teen and teen boys, and we live in a blazing hot area of Southern California, it’s the ever-present and unmistakable aroma of pubescent B.O.

I’m curious about what summer is like for you. How is it different from the rest of your year, if at all? Please let me know if you have a moment to comment. For me, summer means more time with my kids, husband, family, and friends. More time to relax, more time to think, and sometimes even the permission to allow myself to just be.

But this summer will be different from all the rest. Why? Because I suppose I’m officially a writer now – sort of, kind of, maybe. I published my first novel, Is This All There Is?, in January. I’m so grateful for the wonderful reception from readers and the amazing community of fellow authors I’m now part of (especially the chicklit goddesses!). Every day someone asks me about my next book. Maybe they’re just being nice or making conversation, but I take it seriously, and it feels like a calling.

So this summer, I will relax more than I can during my semesters of teaching, but I’m also compelled to write. I’m working on a novel with my mom, who is about to retire after more than 30 years as a nurse and has the most incredible stories. Our book will be a literary Grey’s Anatomy, medical drama from the heartbreaking to the miraculous and everything in between, with some romance and sex thrown in too. We’ve got about 1200 words already, so we only need 70,000 or so more. One step at a time, right?

I also have a couple of rough chapters for a sequel to Is This All There Is? in the works and need to get back to them. I know Beth, Rick, and Dave are angry with me for neglecting them, not to mention poor little Sam and Jack!

So my blog posts may be a little shorter (you’re probably relieved – I know they’re way too long!) because my summer plans are pretty exciting. My husband, kids and I will be taking our first trip to Italy. No, we don’t get to do that sort of thing often, it’s only our second international family vacation, having had a magical time in France together six years ago. I’ll also have a romantic weekend away celebrating my 20-year wedding anniversary. And I plan to spend as much time as I can consuming Chardonnay by the pool and Cheez Its at the beach.  Hope it’s a great one for you too!

Thanks for reading,

Patricia

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