Summer Life

In the summer, my kids find themselves on different adventures with different family members. Often, I am not included in these plans, so I am at home alone. In the past, summer time would be the time for me to really kick butt at work by working more hours than humanly expected. Now, in my new home making life, I find it harder to know what exactly to do.
Today was my first real day to do just this after coming back from dropping the kiddos off with relatives and returning to my new house all alone. At first, I was really tired. I woke up hoping to have energy, but there was none to be found. I just chatted with my hubby in Nigeria and found simple things to do on the computer. I have been looking for a book club forever. Today, I found one while checking out the local libraries and links. I was happy to see that there was one that was meeting next week and I loved the topic of the book they were reading, so I knew today I would add into my "To DO" list to find the book, so I could show up prepared for my first meeting. I also knew I had to go pick up my old girl, Betsy, from the Hyundai Dealer Service shop. She has had problems, but we wanted to get her moving so that we could utilize her gas efficiency and possibly prepare her to be passed down to our teenage daughter. The bill to fix her was not cheap at all, but it is better than a new car payment.
Both errands I ran today not only got me out of the house, but brought me around people. I love to people watch. People, albeit can be frustrating, simply fascinate me. After picking up my Hyundai, I noticed her inspection sticker was expired. Not a big surprise, since she has been a paper weight for some time. I decided to take her to a shop down out street to get her inspected and legal to drive. Well, from the work, her wires were all mixed up and she was not able to communicate with the electronic inspection equipment. This means I have to drive her around illegally until her computer resets and registers the codes, so it can communicate with the State inspection equipment. Before we could come to this consensus, which included me just nodding and pretending I knew what the hell they were talking about, I was sitting down with the family member who owned the store and watching Family Feud and Maury Pauvich (sp). Let me tell you, it was nice to see them so down-to-earth and in the know of every show on t.v. One of the youngest family members reminded me of Harry Connick Jr who still lived at home with his parents. He was comical in a cliche way, but he was nice and entertaining. He gave me the ends and outs of the Maury show and how to tell if the Baby's mommas were lying and how they usually ran off to the side if they were caught. All in all, it was a pleasant visit and they took really good care of me. They sent me back to the dealer with specific instructions on how to handle them and what to say in order not to get charged extra for services. Thank goodness I had no pressing matters to run to, because I was there quite a while, but all in all, it was an unexpected people watching moment that I was happy to be a part of.
Since the dealer agreed that I had to reset my car and gave me even more concise instructions, I decided to illegally drive my car to reset it while I went on my book find. I love to read and I love book stores. My passion for reading goes way back to my toddler years. It is a passion I am most grateful to experience and possess in my life. I journeyed to my favorite book store, Half-Priced Books. I had no luck there. They were all out. Apparently, the book, The Glass Castle, is a very popular reading list book. I decided to try my luck at Barnes and Nobles. No luck their either. They were out with more on order. However, upon arriving, there was a preppy looking lady talking on her cell phone to her mother about her dad. She was loud about how full of shit he was and how he called her full of b.s. and trying to charm her by calling her his princess. Of course, the store could not help but overhear. She just kept on, as did I with my quest and left to try my luck at a small family owned book store right next to my daughter's. I really did not expect to have any luck here either, but I had always wanted to drop in to look around a dying breed. It was exactly how I hoped it would look. It was old, "attic"y looking and smelled of a mixture of old and new books. It had a thrift store feel and I loved it. A family member asked me if I needed help after letting me peruse the aisles to look. I asked her with hesitation if she had the elusive title and she walked me right away to where the book was, several copies, cheaper than the big boy stores! I was in heaven. I have a new favorite book store. I was so happy that I decided to go and press my luck at the dreaded Wally World, the mecca of cheap prices, longs lines, and people watching. I had to stop at my bank located in the store. Here I would be victim to another cell phone drama mama. This lady was spewing colorfully about some man who was a no good for nothing and how she was happy the good lord gave her strength to put up with him. She was loud and proud and we were her audience, willing or not. After I made my deposit, I went to pick up my items from the store. Again, I was not disappointed. A lady in the bread aisle was lecturing her sister on her cell phone over her no good for nothing boyfriend and how she should leave him, cause he would never change since they were not married and he never wanted to be. Good stuff. Too bad, I can not hear both sides! That is really the frustrating part. I wish we could hear it all. I mean if they are going to blast away while we are around, why not?
Life is good. I mean it. It may not always be smooth, but it is something special to be a part of. If I have learned anything switching gears at this stage of my life, it is to stop and really soak it all in, all of it. John Lennon had it right with watching the wheels go round and round. I really love to watch them go.