It's been a full summer. I have eight thousand more miles of travel under my belt now, along with countless memories, wrinkles and gray hair. I've vacationed in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.  My sisters and I sold my mother's ancestral home and its contents.

We sold my mother's home.

It was heartbreaking.

There's been a staggering amount of packing and unpacking this summer. We've packed and unpacked everything you can imagine: emotions, relationships, suitcases, boxes, cars, moving vans, furniture, dishes, clothes and ancient family artifacts. The summer has been beautiful and brutal.

 I am not the same.

Soaking up my nieces and nephew was a wonderful part of my summer that helped me through the tough spots. We ordered room service, sang, laughed and giggled, watched movies, shopped, kayaked, ate ice cream, swam, had our nails done,  participated in a fun run/walk, and watched fireworks together by the lake.

Being with my sisters was great too. We did a spa day,  I tried raw oysters for the first time, and we pulled up to the Ritz Carlton in Cleveland in a U-Haul.

Since one of my sisters lives in Chicago I managed to squeeze in a day at the ALA  convention where I met Alice Walker and Oliver Stone. The atmosphere there was electric. It was worth going even for only a day. It was worth going even if the only thing I did was listen to Alice Walker read to me.

 Alice Walker read to me.

 I love that.

 After Chicago, we headed South so I could open our school library for two days. This is the second year I have done this. We had more people come to the library this summer, but still no more than ten people took advantage of the summer hours.  I heard about another librarian having "Summer Fun Days." I am definitely going to call my summer library days something like that instead of just saying the library will be open.  

 Before I started my summer adventures I sent my principal and superintendent my annual report. This time I used Comic Life. I am not sure I would do this again. It may be too much visually. I may need to do more explaining.

So, now that we're all unpacked and settled in, a new school year has begun. I think my experiences this summer have strengthened me. I feel ready to take on challenges with a positive attitude. Here's to a fresh new start and the promise of more adventures all packed neatly into the space of a school year.