What I did this summer

I didn’t go on vacation. I didn’t travel at all. I went to the river but real travel plans kept getting derailed.

I met, cuddled, walked, spent time with and drew so many dogs. Over 3o according to the photos on my phone. I overbooked myself petsitting, which contributed to not traveling but I was finding it hard to say no to gigs. Either they were with animals I’ve spent time with before and love or they were new dogs that I couldn’t resist. I spent about two months away from home and by the end of it, I was ready for porch time. I am also ready to seriously start thinking about getting a dog of my own and what that looks like because some things will have to change and I’m ok with that.

I sat on my porch whenever I was home.

I took many baths and walks. I stretched. I took cold showers. I cooked. I baked. I sat outside a lot. I read a lot. I swam. I didn’t get a single sunburn. I barely drank alcohol and smoked very little cannabis. I had weird dreams but slept well and a lot. I left my phone at home or in the other room a lot. My nervous system feels the most regulated it has in years.

I hugged my friends and told them I loved them every chance I got.

I saw the sun rise and set most of the summer.

I had many meals from my garden and ate grapes from the vine I tended until I had a stomach ache.

I saw some live music. That was nice. And shout-singing a song with your best friend and a crowd feels great.

I saw some movies in the theater that I loved and one I hated. I watched some old, beloved movies with my housemate. Some did not stand the test of time.

Something I saw on social media made me cry every single day. I tried to send money to places and people when I could.

I saw many things on social media that made me furious. I tried to send money to places and people when I could.

I cried. I raged. I grieved. I made space for others to cry and rage and grieve.

I danced it out many times.

I started a scream meet up with a friend.

I laughed. So, so much.

I made art and made art plans for the fall and holiday season. I’ve got two fundraisers I’m making things for and keep getting asked if I’m doing pop-ups or reopening the shop for the holidays. I think I’ve come up with a plan that won’t leave me feeling like capitalism is killing me.

I wrote. So much. I had a piece ready to publish all about thirst traps as a middle aged woman and then something happened that made me further interrogate my feelings. So, I’m still working on it. I didn’t intend to take this much time off from posting. But I did finish writing a new “Let me read you a poem” post about everyone’s favorite plum poem and will record it and publish it later this week.

I carried a poetry book in my bag with me all summer. I sent a lot of poems to a lot of friends. I sat in the street and listened to poetry being read. I bought a few poetry books. I changed my neighbor’s poetry post and spied on neighbors reading the poems I picked. What did I do before I was an absolute fiend for poetry, when I could be cool about it? (Who am I kidding? I’ve never been cool about anything I really cared about a single time in my life.)

I reconnected with someone I went on a date with in 2021. He brought me a book for our first date and made an excellent impression but the timing was not good - covid, drama with my other partner… we closed the bar that first night, hugged and parted ways. I sent him a book of poetry we’d talked about that night as a thank you and we didn’t speak again. I did think about him though. And he thought about me. And here we are. It’s so tender and new that this is all I’m going to write. It’s made for a lovely end to my summer. Despite the horrors.

There’s less than a week left and I’m determined to enjoy every moment I can.

Love y’all. Mean it.