Swinging into Summer

Welcome, summer. Officially, we've got some ways to go, but it feels like summer here. After all, there's a countdown until the end of the year on my whiteboard at school, boats are invading our lake, and it stays light until after 8 o'clock at night. We've grilled our dinners, slept with the windows open, and applied sunscreen. It's a wonderful time of year.

But even though it's a wonderful time of the year here in Wisconsin, I think I can safely say for both of us that our hearts are not really here anymore. Summer screams "family! friends! camping! Camp of the Woods! Big Dipper! Kinzua!" and we're about 10+ hours from all of those things. Our location is just a by-product of this season of our lives, and now we both know that we're not really destined to live across the ocean or even across the country. We want to be closer to our roots, able to visit our families and friends and participate in day-to-day life with them. So next summer, we're determined to be closer.

But for now, we're making the best of Wisconsin. Our garden is growing, still safe from any predatory herbivores who would like to munch on the leafy greens that are emerging from the ground. It is truly amazing to toss a few seeds into the ground, water them, and wait... then wallah! Lettuce! Or zucchini! Or beans! I'm thrilled.

We've also dragged our lawn chair into the lawn to enjoy the sunshine. Dan took a little rest there before we went on a walk this afternoon. We've been going on walks in the past week (tearing ourselves away from the allure of the Netflicks subscription that my mom gave us for Valentine's Day).

In light of our wonderful weather, we've been staying outside a good bit more. Earlier this week we took a walk around Yerkes Observatory. It's a famous place right down the street which we haven't even taken a tour of (yet). But it is lovely.



Today, we walked on the Lake Path around Geneva Lake. We managed to find a spot to park in the small village of Fontana, but I guess from here on out we'll be walking from our house or the college! It's already packed, and we haven't seen nothin' yet! The lake is still quite cold, but there were plenty of families sunning themselves on the various beaches -- tanned, fit and toned parents admiring their adorable children as the kiddos squawked and chased each other. We walked on the south side of the lake, the side of the lake resplendent with various country clubs, boat launches, and huge houses. It's enjoyable to walk along the shore and admire the houses, although sometimes it's a challenge for my Christianity, as I know that I oscillate between envy and superiority while strolling by. But it's still a cheap, lovely date, walking hand in hand with Dan.



I'm sure there will be many more challenges this summer besides thinking about the houses that line the lake, but Dan and I will survive. And in the meantime, we'll miss all of our friends and family who are far away geographically but close to our hearts.