What I did last summer

What a summer I had! And since it’s 90° today it still feels like summer. But back to my summer.

First, it was summer. Since I always try to appreciate each season, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then Ryan came at the end of July. We picked him up from a camp he had attended in western South Carolina. He hit the ground running – we went to Caesars Head on the way home! We played baseball, went kayaking, went to the 2017 UCI BMX World Championships, he went to Carowinds. After 10 days he flew back home. Since Ryan is under 15 he flew as an “Unaccompanied Minor” which meant I was able to go with him to the gate, just like in the old days. Nice visit but I was exhausted!!

The first week of August Drew came down. We met Anne in Johnson City and came back here for his ten days. It is really cool how different they all are. They are both Meesters and of course Drew is 15 and Ryan is 12, still, their personalities shine through. We were not nearly as active as when Ryan was here but we had a nice time. We went to the pool a couple of times and he and Tiernan went to Carowinds. He flew back as well. He had not yet reached his 15th birthday so, like Ryan, he flew back as an “Unaccompanied Minor.” That was funny! Everybody’s first reaction at meeting Drew was, “He’s so big!” So you can imagine the reaction of the folks at the airline when we told them he was under 15! This time Mary and Tiernan joined me as I accompanied him to the gate.

Tiernan lived with us for a couple of months this summer. That was nice, just having him around every day. He was here when both Ryan and Drew were so he went to the pool with us and to Carowinds with Ryan and Drew. Actually, that first trip to Carowinds included Belle and Jack – Mary had her hands full!

Oh yeah, on August 21 we had a solar eclipse. I have only one word for that – AWESOME!!

The first week of September we went down to Edisto Beach for our annual vacation with the Meesters. How nice! Sadly, we got a phone call on Thursday informing us we had to leave by noon the next day, a full day early, because of Hurricane Irma.

Aimee capped off our week at the beach by coming home with us for her week! She stayed two weeks with us last year as well. And of course, she has her unique rhythms, after all she is TheAimeeMeester. We came back from Edisto on Friday and on Sunday Mary took her to Carowinds. After that, we had a much more laid back week. She was only able to stay a week this time because of her job, but it was nice week. Everyone’s first comment on meeting her was, “I love your hair!” Friday I took her to Gaffney so she could spend the day with a writer friend while I checked out the Broad River. She also flew back, but since she is over 15 we couldn’t go with her to the gate. I have it on good authority that she made it home safely.

Then a week later Mary K came up for a visit. We had not seen Mary K for some time, so this was really nice. Of course, Mary had promised to take Lucca to Carowinds so that probably played a part. They arrived on Friday. Saturday Mary, Mary K, Lucca, and DC headed to Carowinds (that’s a lot of Carowinds!) while I spent the day hanging out with Leia. I had to remember that while Lucca is the oldest Coleman, she's only 7. I’d been hanging out with 12, 15, and 17 year olds! These cute Colemans are the youngest set of grandchildren. Sunday night Sarah brought her children over and we had a houseful of energetic grandchildren! Monday afternoon, in a surprising move, the Colemans returned to Augusta but they did not fly. Another nice weekend.

Wow! What a full and exciting summer. And I haven’t really even mentioned time spent with Isabelle and Jack. Oh how I love my family!