Summer Barbecues and Family Times
I sip hot coffee while barbecue smoke seeps deliciously in through my open deck door. Marco sings along to a plaintive song on Pandora, monitoring the sizzling grill outside in between chopping jalapenos for colorful pico de gallo.
Orange and brown afghan fort walls flap outside on the front lawn, while my daughter and preschool son sprawl across the grass, trying bird calls. A squabble erupts and fades away. Blanket walls tumble and stretch tall again.
Family days feel brief and precious now.
School years start with notebooks stacked high in September, and months that seem to stretch long, full of promise and plans. Suddenly June is here. Notebooks swell with maturing scrawls and math sums; and plastic binders burst with history and literature.
High schooler cleans his room, finishes homework on the Vietnam war, American Literature, and Algebra II, then bikes away to see friends. Our times with him are sweet as well, centering around bike rides, speed scrabble games, late-night talks, and laughter. College beckons in a year.
In between hopping up to mince mounded Vidalia onions and lay out plates, I join you here and type. Now the fire outside burns lower, roasted meat lingers savory on my tongue, and marshmallows call to me.
How are you savoring family and friends this weekend?
Such precious moments. Sigh. Yet so scarce this days.
We need to grab them when we can to savor them like bbq aroma in the air.
I love the extra details like the afghan fort walls flapping. I can see the dessert caravan under tent. Hummmm.. beautiful.
You remind me of Luke who gave the most colorful account of the Gospel… with colors alive and feelings thrive.
Good evening, Lolita. Thank you. How was the school near Cebu today?
Jennifer
jenniferdougan.com
We are generally fine in our location. Our school year is about to start in two weeks.
Traffic is gonna be something to reckon with. We commute by public transport to the office, and mostly get clogged up in traffic jam.
Anyway, our school year is always ushered in with the wet season…. raincoats and umbrellas are a must.
Good evening, and sweet dreams.
Summer is my favorite season! Thanks for sharing your life!
Food, again! 😎
How good that you have a preschooler so that your empty-nest stage of life will be postponed for quite a long time.
It is so good to read about parents enjoying children, especially teens, and siblings enjoying one another.
Hello Angelonwheels,
What fun to hear from you. 🙂 I enjoy summer too. How are you feeling?
Jennifer
jenniferdougan.com
Cabinart/Jana,
Yes! I grinned when I mentioned food in my post again actually, thinking of you. I almost tagged you, like similar to a facebook post, but didn't. 🙂
Thank you, my friend.
Jennifer
jenniferdougan.com