First Day of Summer

I know that summer doesn't officially start till 7:59 tonight, but for me, yesterday was the true first day.

As I noted a couple of posts ago, I work in academia. I am now on summer vacation.

And that is all I will say about my job.

But today, on the occasion of the Summer Solstice, is the first full day of my vacation.

So how have I spent the first day of summer so far?

Well, last night I stayed up till 11:30. (I really wanted to stay up later, but I was exhausted.) I didn't have to set my alarm or get up at a specific time. I shut the ringer of my land line off before I went to bed, and turned the cell phone completely off. It felt really good to do that.

I made sure that the cats had enough food and water in their dishes, so they wouldn't crawl all over me at the crack of dawn.

I was getting ready to sleep in. The day after the last day of school, I always allow myself to sleep in later and longer than any other day of the year.

And today, I got up at 8:15. Not as late as I wanted to sleep, but at least I didn't awaken to my clock radio.

It was such a delicious feeling, being awakened by the sun streaming through my window, one cat plastered against my side and the other cuddled up at my feet. They knew not to disturb mommy.

I had a very leisurely breakfast. I made tea and scrambled eggs with freshly ground pepper and Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning. And then I headed here, to my computer, logged onto WNYC to listen live, and read the Hartford Courant online.

And then, decisions. How should I spend the rest of this glorious day?

I wanted to call my sister, who was at work, and rub in the fact that I was on vacation. I then decided against it, because I've done it every year for the past several years, and felt the routine was getting old.

I then decided to call my best friend, who was also at work, and rub the vacation factor in his face. I decided against that, too, based on my factors listed above.

If anything, I knew I wanted to spend this day alone, sort of as a cleansing ritual, since I spend so much time around people during the academic year.

It's such a gorgeous day, full of sunlight and the occasional cloud.

Now what?

I logged off and lifted weights for 20 minutes. Then I watched the first half of The Price is Right, and then left to go to the Y and pick up a prescription at CVS. I was at CVS when I realized I left my earbuds at home, so I turned around and went back home. It was lunchtime, so I ended up having lunch--pasta with roasted veggies.

And now, here we are, back at the computer so I can record more detail of my day. After lunch I moved my entertainment center, dusted in the back, and put it back in its proper place. I'm still planning on going to the Y, then I have a meeting at church, and a cake to bake when I get home later this evening. I'm attending a party tomorrow at my best friend's house; it'll be the first time we've seen each other in six months.

Not such an exciting time for the first day of summer, but a very restful time, indeed.

UPDATE, 12:02 AM, 6/21: The day got more exciting, as I was invited to a small get-together with some friends right after a meeting at church. It was a lovely time to play catch-up with some people I don't get to see too much, and was another great way to open the summer season.