What I Did on My Summer Vacation, by Tonette Joyce

Shades of 4th grade!

So , What Did I Do This Summer?

I really need to read the topics ahead of time, because I used-up the tales of the headway I made towards decluttering in last week’s post….so I won’t bore you with it again. Suffice it to say, I moved a lot out. So many books went that when a friend stopped in who helped my husband move a huge bookshelf into the house, he said, “You still have the Great Wall of China and it looks like you have some room in it.” I told him it was only temporary, since there were a few piles of books around the house that will more than fill it up.

I had my grandkids quite a bit. My granddaughters are especially time/energy absorbing, so I got little done in the days they were here. I do more and have more in common with their cousin, my grandson, but it goes smoother with him. However, I had most evenings to myself, which led to quite a bit of writing and reading.

I gave up on my local library’s Adult Summer Reading Program since it asked for too many books and activities to which I would not normally indulge. I am stretched for time. I received a number of books to review and wrote the reviews and I kept up with this blog, although I am once again neglecting my other one. I checked in with many of my fellow bloggers, but it seems to be impossible to check in with them all.

What I did do was re-work the story based on what happened one night to me into an almost-ready to submit story. I had made it into a three-person play after not being able to grab a couple of people and someone with a camera to make it a short movie. Thanks to Jeanne Theuissen for reading. Plus Charlene Wilson and podcasts from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, I realized it needed a great deal more color put into it, and I did.

Some time back USA Weekend had a storyline about a feel-good book and asked for like stories. I submitted one and heard back from them right away; they loved it and wanted mine to be featured a follow-up article. Unfortunately, they had trouble finding other stories that contained the spirit of the original, (and mine) and then they ceased publication. Although it was my story and it wasn’t necessary, I felt it would be common curtesy to track-down the author of the book which the original article was based upon, (as I had submitted the story through him). He was very gracious and wished me luck. I reworked it and it is now in submission in another venue.

I also add onto my, (I-swear-I-will-finish-it), romance.

I did get to the Joyce Family Reunion in North Carolina this June. It started by my calling a cousin  that I had not seen in many years , telling him that my sister and I would be going down and would like to see him, and possibly his brother. Another cousin came in from South Carolina to  see us, as did one who is living in Georgia.The next year his brother joined us, along with two other cousins and my last remaining aunt, who is 98 years old,(and mentally sharp as a tack!)…and a distant cousin whom we had met online.

I missed last year but this year we had even more distant cousins to meet.It was a wonderful trip.

But recently my time and energy are being used up with my husband at home with a broken ankle and torn ligament. The extra running around is time consuming especially if he goes with me, since I have to put his knee scooter in and out of the car, hold doors, etc. Plus, the things he did around the house are now my jobs,(everything but lawn mowing; #1 Son has taken that job. Thank you, Anthony!).

And men at home need more attention. It’s nice, since he had been working so many hours over-time for several months before this happened, we are planning the roof repair and making other decisions that need to be talked-out when we didn’t have the time. When he is working second shift, only one of us is truly awake at any one point when we are together when we aren’t bustling around! And we’ve done a lot of catching up on movies that we had been meaning to see…(Oh, the sacrifices I make!)

So, I am here, hoping that we have a real Autumn, with moderate temperatures for a while. That isn’t common, but I am hoping. I really need to tame at least some of the growth that has run amok with the unusual amount of rain and the high temperatures we received this Summer.

Looking back, I have to say that I guess what I accomplished most was time with my grandchildren. Time goes by too quickly and kids grow up too fast…that time can never be replaced.

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