Help!

For me Labor Day signifies the end of summer. The six postcards I received in the mail this week reminding me to have my two kids at the bus stop ten minutes early along with offers to have care packages sent to my college student (how can I miss him enough to send a care package while I am still trying to figure out how we are going to get a futon, fridge, TV, mountain bike and five people in our compact car?) have assured me that yes, summer is over and I missed it completely. Why is it that when the kids were in grade school the end of summer couldn’t arrive soon enough and when they are in college it’s gone in a flash?

Can summer really be over? I haven’t taken the Jet Ski out since July…of 2007. Why did I purchase a fishing license this year? I don’t even remember what fresh perch tastes like. Do we still own a tent for our once was weekly camping trips? My stack of summer reading seems to have grown and now my goal is to read 37 books a day over the next 3 days to get them finished before tackling fall’s mountain. Summer can’t be over!!

Help me out here!

What books have you read this summer that just can’t be missed?

Which can I safely pass on?

The Heat Is On!

This is a near perfect weekend with the sun shining and the weather finally warm enough to enjoy those outdoor activities. My son is fortunate enough to have a friend with a pool – how can you beat that?

I must settle for lying out on the deck with a book in hand. My daughter and I are currently arguing over the teen book club pick, Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen. Since it is her book, I have to stay up awfully late or get up extremely early to get a chance to read it. I have a stack of books I should read next, but none of them is really jumping out at me, so I could use your help.

What are your top summer picks?

Hug Him and Squeeze Him and Call Him George

Summer is here! So maybe it is only 60 degrees out and the kids are still in school. Today my college student will be home bearing gifts of laundry and stale chips. I am as yet undecided how I feel about his return. Each Friday night before his visits home the past nine months I could hardly contain my excitement. “I will hug him and squeeze him and call him George”*!! By Sunday I still have not received a hug or even seen him for that matter. I know he arrived safely because twenty minutes before we are ready to drive him back to college he dumps out a garbage bag of laundry that he needs washed before we can leave.

He is ready for a break from his studies, though. He called me just the other day to place a book order. During the school year he is so busy he can’t find the time to read. When he does, he feels he should be reading something for school, not his own enjoyment. When he arrives home, I will have his copy of Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes waiting for him. Nothing like a little light reading over the summer.

His brother just finished the latest by his favorite author, Neal Shusterman . He is searching for something short to read since he only has a couple of weeks left of school. This son just can’t find the time in his busy summer schedule to read. It is amazing how different two children in the same family can be.

So, my question for you is – do you read more or less during the lazy summer months? And, what do you read - something light and enjoyable like a romance or something deep and life changing?

* Just a little fyi - Did you know this popular phrase is actually a reference to John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men?