Is summer really almost over?

The end of summer always sneaks up on me. Does it do this to you? Those long summer days slowly get shorter, and you know that your days at the pool are numbered. I feel like I blinked and it was the end of August already. Summers here in Bavaria remind me of the way I felt about summers when we lived in Vermont, I'm actually sad to see them go. The warm air, days by the pool, late evenings sipping wine on the porch...

I can honestly say though, I have never had a summer quite like the one we've had this year. Although it might be coming to an end, we still have so much we are cramming into our schedule in the next couple of months. Little r has been on vacation from kindergarten for two weeks now. I really thought we would make each other completely crazy sitting at home trying not to go after each other's throats. Instead, we have somehow managed to stay insanely busy and preoccupied with travels, sun worshipping, and festivals. We need summer to end just so we can catch our breaths!

little r enjoys some time hanging out with the men at the table

This lederhosen has been donned on many occasions already

All this travel and nonstop action is absolutely a blast, but it certainly has a way of catching up with you. I've been surprised that it hasn't affected me more - the lack of routine, especially - but I most definitely feel it every 5 or 6 days. I can feel it in little r when he is clearly needing a good night's sleep, and I'll get that unsettled feeling of almost being frazzled inside because I haven't planned a meal or read the news in weeks. As soon as my stomach forms into knots, we pick up and go somewhere else exciting and the knot disappears. I'm just hoping all this nonstop action is giving little r worldly culture and not putting me in the "bad mom" category. So far he's doing quite well with it all.

little r being a trooper out late with our friends...

August has been a month full of festivals. We went to several wine and beer festivals including the nationally famous Sandkerwa (super awesome annual beer festival) here in Bamberg this past weekend. We went last year when I hadn't even lived in Germany a month yet, and we just couldn't wait for Sandkerwa this year. What a blast! But holy heck, if I don't have a pretzel, bratwurst, or beer for awhile, I'm sure my body would be very happy with me. This really is a pretty incredible place to live in the summertime though, despite what your body might think :)

Some of the ladies enjoying the local beer

And the men clearly enjoying the beer as well...

After our trip to the Rhine Valley, and several late nights hanging out with friends at BBQ's and Sandkerwa, we were exhausted yesterday. We got little r to bed early, we even climbed into bed earlier than usual. Much to this mommy's absolute blessed suprise, my little bear decided he'd crawl into bed with us early this morning and then sleep until 8:30 a.m.! Any regular reader of my blog understands how much of an anomoly this is! I'm not sure of the last time I slept that long - it was pure heaven, for both of us!

I'm going to stay somewhat low key this week to prepare ourselves for another weekend of amazing plans. We are heading with friends to Mallorca, Spain, to spend the weekend on the beach in true Spanish style. We all can't wait, especially little r. We're taking Ryanair for the first time, so the adventure promises to bring a few stories and a tip or two about how to pack super light with a toddler in tow. Then we are off to the States for our law school reunion in Vermont. We'll be gone for a week, and we are doing the double dare of flying Space A. That will create many a blog-worthy post, that I can assure you! I'm oddly looking forward to the unconventional method of travel (right, as if the standard way is too boring, right?)...

I'll be sad to see the warm weather go, and when the sun sets at 4:00 p.m. and it's too cold to sit out on the porch anymore, I'll just dream about warm drinks by the fire and all the adventures we have planned this winter. Oh yes, we have no intentions of sitting still just because the sun has gone. I suppose we'll just catch our breaths when we leave Germany, which will hopefully not be any time soon!

 

 

 

 

 

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