It’s late August and while the calendar suggests summer’s looming end, the mid-Atlantic humidity and pool of sweat on my shirt from this morning’s jog prove that the season is not yet finished. But what a summer it’s been so far.
I graduated from Hollins with my M.F.A. in Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating, my parents and grandparents present as I crossed the stage under the shade of a beautiful May afternoon. A week later, I visited Teresa, a dear grad school friend in Savannah, Georgia, then drove to Charleston, South Carolina to close out the Memorial Day holiday with my sister and fiancée.
June welcomed me with a surprise: I won a pair of tickets to see Dave Matthews Band in Bristow, Virginia from a radio contest. Another grad school friend, Sara, tagged along with me. We met me at our Airbnb in Northern Virginia, grabbed Lebanese dinner, and enjoyed DMB in the waning daylight, night sky, and eventual rain. The night shower eventually stopped, and Dave immediately sang “Virginia in the Rain” to the delight of the crowd.
My lovely job brought me to the American Library Association Conference in Washington, D.C. I met Ada, a friend and roommate from undergrad for lunch before going to the convention center and manning my company’s booth. I got books and met famed kid lit author-illustrator duo Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett. Our company sat at a rooftop bar later that evening for pizza and mezze al fresco. I drove home on 95 in the dark summer night, Ted Nugent’s Stranglehold on full blast with the windows down. It was wonderful.
In July, I visited my friends at Hollins University for a weekend in Roanoke. We crammed in a day downtown and stayed up until 2am both nights. It took me a week to recover.
My mom’s beloved Honda Pilot broke down in late July and I had to buy a new car. I found a silver 2014 Honda Pilot, a sleek, compact, absolute joy-ride. It can play radio, Bluetooth, and CDs. I love this SUV with my whole heart.
I read a lot. Summer reading means many trips to the library; here’s a lightning round of my best books of the season:
The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian
The Road to After by Rebekah Lowell
Good Eggs by Rebecca Harriman
Cuphead comics Volumes 1 and 2 by Zack Keller (more on Cuphead later)
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
A Bird Will Soar by Allison Green Myers
Summer also means many sloppy kisses and furry hugs. Between the last week of July and the first week of August, I dogsat for four families, a total of seven dogs: Bentley and Bailey, the former a young bernadoodle and the latter an older mini poodle, Mo, a zealous goldendoodle puppy, Weezie and Bailey, a pair of boxer siblings from the same litter, and Charlie and Louie, my neighbor’s gentle senior dogs, a goldendoodle and Yorkie mutt. Each dogsitting adventure is a story in itself.
My sister’s Bachelorette took place in mid August. We rented a big Airbnb in Georgetown, D.C. After a Friday night of tapas and plenty of champagne, Saturday morning, we bused to Loudoun County, Virginia, mid-Atlantic wine country. I’m familiar with this area’s incredible wineries. In grad school, my friends and I would sacrifice a day’s drive in the car just to get to scenic views and delicious flights. We couldn’t have asked for better weather for Saturday’s wine tour and photo shoot in the vineyards. It was a beautiful weekend.
And I’m still sipping the remnants of our Bachelorette splurges, a reminder of golden afternoons in the summer sun with open books, singing cicadas, and the peculiar fondess I feel when the smell of Coppertone hits my nose.