Bits & Pieces of Normal

One thing that can definitely be said about people living in the Midwest is that we love our four distinct seasons here. Oh sure, weather often spills over into a season where it doesn’t belong. We get snowstorms in spring and heat waves in fall. But overall, seasons in the Midwest know their place.

And if there’s one thing Midwesterners love to talk about, it’s the weather!

Since summer is now upon us, every conversation seems to begin with, “Well, how hot is it supposed to get today? Or boy, we sure could use (or not use) some rain.”

Summer has never been my favorite season, but I do like the more laid back feel it seems to have. I love the “school’s out for summer” feeling, even when I’m not in school anymore. I love opening up my windows at night. I love having my kids around more. I love taking long walks with hubby and the dogs, except for when it’s too darn hot for us to venture out.

I love jumping in the car and taking mini-trips to who knows where and remembering long ones my family and I used to take years ago. Some summers we traveled to the west coast to visit relatives stopping at various national parks along the way. Each and every summer without fail we made the shorter trek to North Dakota to visit the grandparents.

My parents, my three siblings, our family dachshund and I made those trips in a Ford sedan with no air conditioning and certainly no DVD player. And you know who always sat in the middle of the back seat. Always. The pecking order back then was very well established and despite my frequent complaints, the seating assignments never changed. Ever.

Was it hot, uncomfortable and even downright miserable at times? Yes!

But back then, that was our normal.

Now summer also represents chemo season for me.

Two summers ago about mid-July I began chemotherapy. I felt like a witness forced to sit in a chair and testify under duress. I cooperated and showed up to take my place in a different sort of chair on infusion days only because everyone (including myself) told me I had to.

That was the summer that wasn’t.

Last summer I was still pretty fresh out of the cancer gate and definitely still more than a bit wobbly as hubby and I started trying to figure out this “new normal” thing because that’s what we were told we must do.

Last summer was, but still wasn’t, if that makes any sense.

This summer feels a bit more ordinary, dare I say it, a bit more normal.

Normal things are happening again.

Things that are supposed to be happening are.

Daughter got married and I was there to see it. I’ve had some readers with young children say to me they hope to live long enough to see their children grow up and get married. Hearing that breaks my heart and makes me count my blessings.

This summer son #one traveled abroad to visit his girlfriend without his mom and dad along to offer advice and guidance, though we did offer quite a bit before he left the country I must admit. We did not communicate much at all for two whole weeks and things went fine for everyone.

Son #two is home from college again for the summer  juggling two jobs trying to earn some “real cash.”

This summer hubby and I will hop in the car and take a few more of those road trips to where ever just because we can.

We will celebrate the 85^th birthday of a certain special grandmother.

We’ll be pet sitting three lovable four-legged critters from Fargo, the “boys” as we like to call them. (Yes, for two weeks we will have six animals living under our roof).

I’ll be relaxing as often as I can on my deck with a good book in my hands. (I know this is yet another cancer book, but this is an example of some of my “new normal” reading material now. And by the way, I highly recommend this one if you haven’t read it yet).

I’ll dig around in my flower gardens and ask myself again why I didn’t pay more attention to my grandmother’s and mother’s advice all those years.

The Fourth of July will find us hanging up our flag, grilling some burgers and “dogs,” watching a boat parade on our little lake, continuing the tradition we started a few years ago of watching and pretending to by frightened by the classic old movie Jaws, watching some fireworks and of course eating some ice cream!

What else will this summer bring?

Who knows…

But I plan to enjoy it as much as possible as it slowly unfolds.

I intend to savor bits and pieces of normal.

And that will feel pretty darn nice.

What’s your favorite season?

Do you have special summer memories or traditions?  

How do you feel about the expectation to find your “new normal” and have you “found” it?