WHAT I DID THIS SUMMER

Summer is drawing to a close, schools are back in session, and my blog has been sitting here neglected for a while. So, I've decided to dust off the blog, and, in so doing, like many school children, I'll write an essay about "What I Did This Summer".

I took up a new hobby this summer. I am learning to crochet. I've yet to complete a project, but I am getting close. I began learning while on my trip to North Carolina with friends in May and have been determined to learn and create since then. Crochet is an incredibly relaxing activity, and something I believe I've done every single day since mid-May. I have a couple of projects under construction at this point. Stay tuned, as I'll be posting pictures of the finished creations.

I've spent lots of time with Gray and Trent, two of the dearest people who have ever dropped into my life. They each bring gifts of love and joy to my life and we provide mutual sounding boards from which to vent.

The summer started with a bang with the signing of a contract on the house that Parker and I have been trying to sell for more than a year. Our dreams of non-home ownership were dashed when the couple purchasing the house backed out due to an announcement that Norfolk-Southern is planning to build a Railroad Hub just miles from the house. Back to the drawing board. There's been zero interest since then. The housing market will eventually recover, and I just have to take solace in the fact that, for whatever reason, THIS was not OUR time.

In July, I visited with my friends Lee and Jane in Kentucky for several days. That was a wonderful, relaxing break from the normal day to day. To think that I've been friends with these two wonderful people for 14 and 15 years is simply amazing.

I've set some challenges for myself to learn new music for the piano. I am learning and attempting for the first time to memorize a few classical pieces, and am looking to also learn some hymn arrangements. My ultimate goal is to do something I've never done before-to give a piano recital.

I had some firsts this summer. I attended my very first gay pride parade, I took a shot of Patron Tequila and I even used a lawnmower for the first time in years.

Here's my confession: This summer has gone by so quickly, but it's been a good one. I've been so incredibly blessed in the last year to have people who have welcomed me into their lives. There are a million things on my plate that I really want to accomplish. There are many things I want to change about myself. I think I am at a place in my life where I am at peace with being single. When and if the time comes, when and if "HE" comes along, the time will be right. Right now, I don't think, is the right time. And, after all these many years, I'm ok with that. I'm continually examining my spirituality. As I look at my life, especially over the last few months, I identify many areas where I need to focus on growing. I see many things I don't like, many situations that are, to me, less than ideal. Some of these things I can control. Others, I simply have to take one day at a time and hope for the very best of outcomes. Yet, all in all, I'm learning about me. I think that's what this summer has been about. As cliché as it sounds, each day is the beginning of a new journey. It's not about how I live from paycheck to paycheck, it's not about where I live. It's not about pains I've suffered or people I've lost in my life. It's not about stuff. At the end of the day, it IS about the people who surround me, who walk this journey with me. It's about the friends who act as cheerleaders to me...the ones who call me out when I miss the mark, and those who celebrate my successes along side me. It's really all about where I am right now in the journey—with an eye to the past and an eye to the future—but truly allowing myself to immerse myself in the here and now. And you know what? I'm liking what I see.