Cathedrals Of Our Own

This has been a great summer. One of the best I’ve ever had. Right now, I’m pining for the rainy season, for cool days and cooler nights, the opportunity to wear my favorite long-sleeved shirts and pants that cover my legs. I still have some summer to spend, but I’m looking back at what a dreamy time it’s been.

Having a decent summer wasn’t assured after I injured my back in early June. Regular PT visits and daily exercise brought me back to normal function, but for a couple of weeks, I wasn’t sure I’d walk right again. Maybe that’s why this summer feels so joyful. I didn’t think I’d have much of a summer at all.

My garden suffered from my lack of full mobility, so you won’t see any “best garden year ever” pictures. It was passable, and I’m glad it wasn’t worse. I won’t be canning any huge harvests this year, but maybe the sweet potatoes will surprise me in the fall. Hiking has been good for my injury, bending/twisting/hoisting has not. I’m thrilled to have the summer I’ve had despite this failing.

In early July, I taught the camp that is so close to my heart, helping kids learn how to shape a story and build their own book from nothing. This year brought new challenges, completely different from last year’s, and it gave me many lessons. But on the whole, it was successful, with each kid actually completing a story and a book by week’s end.

Tim and I spent a heavenly weekend on the southern coast in a little boathouse we will definitely be renting again. It smelled just like his grandfather’s boathouse in Canada, and the weathered wood floors gave a pleasing creak with each step. We sat on the porch overlooking a river that ebbed with the ocean tides, fascinated with the change in the river’s direction from morning to night. We saw circles in the sand, a horse on the beach, and explored an old lighthouse. We were delighted.

On the summer solstice, we saw Midsummer Night’s Dream in the park after dark by one of our favorite theatre companies, Original Practice Shakespeare. I have *always* wanted to see Midsummer on the solstice in a park. What better show for an outdoor venue?

Not long after the boathouse trip, we went to the super-low tide event that allowed us to walk on part of the beach that’s usually covered in water. Anemones! Sea stars! Mollusks! A crowd on the beach at 9 a.m.!

Later, that same rock formation out in the ocean would be host to a cougar.

And we have hiked. Oh we have hiked! To our favorite lookout point, in the nearby arboretum, out at Mt Hood. And we saw berries on every trail. And we visited the Fruit Loop and bought the most delicious produce and are still eating it.

We’ve gone out for drinks during Slushie Week, went to a blues bar and then a rooftop bar with one of my closest friends, and we watched soccer. Yes, I know. If you’ve been following along, you know soccer is not really our sport. But Tim has decided to actively support women’s sports, and when he decides to do something he goes all in. He is now the soccer expert, and I’m trying to catch up.

Another old friend and coworker came into town and we had brunch. BRUNCH. And we laughed and told stories and ate enormous pancakes.

We did some purging in the storage locker and tossed a huge amount of stuff. I’m officially in Swedish Death Cleaning mode so my kids don’t have to deal with all my shit. If you come from a family of hoarders, you know exactly how satisfying it is to throw things away. We happened upon some gems though, and are taking pictures of those items that are important to us but not worth foisting on the kids. Don’t think this is a summer activity? You try doing this in rainy season.

And just last week, I spent two glorious days camping with another one of my dearest friends. I saw blacktail dear so close I could pet them (I didn’t), was sung to sleep by a barred owl and awakened by a raven, swam in a river and spent hours in my tent writing in solitude.

Summer’s not nearly over yet, but I’ve had a lush banquet of everything it has to offer. Next week, we’re headed out to watch the meteor shower in our favorite state park.

I want the rains to come, I want my chilly weather and contemplative cloudy days. This season has been a deepening and widening of contentment and understanding. Can I hang on to this pure joy? This profound wonder at the beauty of my life? That’s a question for another day, I suppose. Some day in September when I’m fretting over the unknowable perimeters of my next adventure, I am sure this glorious saturation will have ebbed.

But right now, oh what a summer I have had.

^{I believe there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own. — Billy Joel, Summer Highland Falls}