Almost Done

Eighteen days.

A few little trips.

Some shopping.

And then, it's back to life outside of the summer bubble.

It's weird. Summer really is a bit of a bubble-- it goes by in a haze of lazy mornings and late nights filled with TV, and afternoons with friends. And then all of a sudden, you realize it's August, and you to back to school in just over two weeks, and life comes crashing back down around you.

Your schedule comes in the mail. Back-to-school sales flood the stores. You start thinking about what it's going to be like to see your friends again. Planning for the first day of school outfit. A mad dash to do all those things you promised yourself you were going to do this summer.

And then it's back to waking up at 6:35, and nearly falling asleep during first period, complaining loudly with your friends about teachers, and trying to finish your math homework during break. Life goes from shorts and tank tops and not having to move for six hours straight, to running from one class to the next, trying to complete all your homework on time, laughing with your friends during lunch.

And I have to say, I'm a little bit excited. I have tackle hugs planned for more than one of my friends, and can't wait to be regaled with stories from the summer. And yeah, I'm not so excited for math class or sitting down for French. But I knew that summer would come to an end, and okay, the end has snuck up on me a bit.

But I know that I'm going to make the most of these eighteen days.

There's not really much else you can do.

Strange

Well, it's over now.

By "it", I mean school. I am officially 1/4 of the way done with high school. It's weird to think that it's summer now-- it hasn't quite set in. I've only been out of school for seven hours now, and the knowledge that I won't have to go back until September, that come Monday morning I won't have an alarm set and that a week from now I'll be at the ocean, is foreign feeling.

It always feels this way at the end of the year, and I always forget.

It still feels like I'll be seeing my friends on Monday, that I'll tackle them in the halls and tell them about my weekend. It still feels like I have fifteen different things looming over my head at once, even though my finished assignments and full workbooks are strewn all across my room. It still feels like I shouldn't watch TV or spend hours reading, because I have to do homework instead.

Yet I won't have to do any of that until September. I know the time will come when I'll return to tan tiled floors and royal blue lockers, the airy math building where my friends and I ate lunch every day this year, and  classrooms I have yet to be acquainted with. But for now, I'm free. I'm free to read books for hours, spend my time sprawled on the upstairs deck in the sunshine, reading or daydreaming. I can knit and sew and go to the pool, and wander the city on weekdays.

But for now, when just seven hours ago I was still on school grounds, lounging in a nook by my math classroom surrounded by about eight of my friends, while the kids in my math class watched episodes of The Twilight Zone, it feels like I'll be returning come Monday. It's a strange feeling, this. Knowing that I won't be back until September, and being glad of it, yet also feeling like well, of course I'll be going back on Monday. Of course I'll see my friends again on Monday.

Yet I know that my best guy friend, who I'll probably only see once or twice this whole summer, who picked me up and swung me around in a hug today-- just as he did to all his friends standing in a circle exchanging hugs-- won't be seeing me on Monday. I know that my friends and I won't be able to listen to his tales of his many siblings, or steal his food or read his books over his shoulder. I know that I won't see many of my friends again for some time. Between scheduling differences, and the sheer laziness of summer, it's unlikely that, unless we gather for a party or something, I'll see any of the multitude of friends I've gathered this year, over the summer.

It's a strange feeling, knowing that I won't have them around, once Monday comes. I know I'm glad to have a break. That after seeing them almost every day for nine months, I need one. Yet it still feels strange. I'm not quite used to summer yet, I suppose.

And this concludes my one week of blogging every day. Starting last Friday, I decided to write a blog post every day, ending on the last day of school. I didn't say anything about it, mostly because I forgot, but I wanted to get myself back into the swing of writing blog posts. I'll be making an effort to be back a lot more this summer than I have been for the last year or so-- if I can write a post a day during finals week, then surely I can write a post every once in awhile over the summer? Also, you should go and check out Mirriam's giveaway, and make sure to check out Monster on Amazon tomorrow, for the Amazon Blitz!

The Dandy Lioness

Not-Quite

When I walk upstairs

the tangy scent of summer hits me,

blanketing me like a wave.

It's a smell full of fresh air mixed with

green apple shampoo

and the flowers in the garden below.

I can hear the drone of cars

from the busy street nearby.

The light slanting through the white curtains

is the blue-gray of not-quite-night,

when the sun has set,

yet the world is still lit up by its rays.

Outside,

tendrils of wind snake through

the city streets

like molten lava down a volcano's side.

It's the cool feel of almost summer,

where backpacks are still leaning against chairs,

and papers are strewn around bedrooms,

but the world is reaching for that

summer feel

and almost

but not-quite

reaching it.

The Dandy Lioness 

The Summer Projects

It is a well known fact among my friends and family, that my closets are messy. I have two in my room, one which is delegated to Stuff and the other is actually full of clothes. So starting at the beginning of summer (one more week of school, and then I'm officially on summer vacation!), I'm beginning the Great Closet Reorganization(s).

The plan for the Great Closet Reorganization(s) is to dig out the dresser from the closet full of Stuff, and put it in my clothes closet. Once in place there, my clothes will be relocated into the dresser (which hopefully will fit into my closet. It's never actually been in there, as far as I know...) and I'll move all of my knitting things into the drawers which currently house my clothes.

And when I say dig out the dresser, I mean dig it out. That closet is... embarrassingly full of Stuff. Honestly, it's more stuff than should possibly fit in that space. Once the dresser has been dug out, we're hoping to get rid of all the stuff we no longer need or want. (Spoiler alert: it's a lot of stuff).

Along with the Great Closet Reorganization(s), I'm planning on also having the Huge Clothes Purge of 2013 (getting rid of everything I never wear/never want to wear/is way too small for me), and the Long-Overdue Desk Organization.

As much as I don't like cleaning, I know I'm going to be so happy to have these things done. And while yes, knowing me, they'll soon relapse into messes and chaos, I'm hoping to be able to keep things neat for at least a little while.

So those are my summer plans so far. What do you guys have planned for summer?

{SOOC}

The Dandy Lioness

Home Is Where The Heart Is

People often say
that home is where the heart is
and if you asked me
where my home is
I don't know if I would spout off my address
or if I would say

That home to me
is waves crashing on the shore
and the scent of salt in the air
and worn down buildings
and cement stairs
and the sound of flip flops on gravel
and squeaky doors and broken stoves
and ugly bedding.

Home is where kites fly high above,
where cousins swing on rusty swing sets,
and dogs run.

Home is where all the paintings look the same,
and there's a bell in the little shop,
and when you can just tell when you're almost there,
and you've broken out of the trees,
and the cliffs are coming up.

Home is where reeds slap your legs,
where the water is icy cold.

Home is the start of summer,
and comfort food,
and sodas kept in a cooler.

Home is camp fires
and camping chairs,
and little condos
where the floor always has a fine layer of sand covering it,
and the chairs squeak,
and no one can quite figure out the microwave,
or where they've put the spoons this year.

Home is a little balcony
connected to my aunt's room
where dogs squeeze through the bars from one room to another,
and where I can curl up with a book,
and look out over the waves.

So yes,
while home is the brick house I've lived in,
for my entire life,
home is also on the beach shore
at the start of every summer.

Quick Summer Update

Hello all!  As you can see, I updated the blog a bit for Summer.  I don't know how long it'll stay like this-- in the summer, my decisions get a bit flighty, and I may change it around a bit.  Do you like it?

Also, you've seen that I got a new header.  Do you like it?  I couldn't quite decide between the one I've currently got up, and  this one here:

Thoughts?

Also, my eighth grade promotion is today, and I got nominated for an award, so... yay!

Really, this post is pointless, just telling you that I updated the background (which you can see).  And that I'm ready for summer.

I'm just going to post this pointless little post now.

The Dandy Lioness