return from hiatus

I’ve been on hiatus, at least from the world of blogging. Many times I have found myself sitting before a blank screen, ready to write. And typically I do write during those times. But the words that emerge are not the words I imagined, the paragraphs disjointed and rambling in a state of messy frustration or mere dullness. I cannot seem to bring myself to post something that bores even me. If I am bored writing it, I refuse to subject others to the reading of it. And so, alas, I have been on what I decidedly call a “hiatus”.

The summer has arrived in full force, the sweltering heat and late afternoon storms greeting me on a near daily basis. After discovering that the pups are continuing to dig monstrous holes in the backyard out of a search for cool earth upon which to nap, the boyfriend and I have made the executive decision to buy a kiddy pool for them. We laughed today at the probability that he will often return home from work to find both the pups and myself lounging in the new pool. But believe me when I say that southern summers are unbelievably suffocating, even for those solar-powered individuals such as myself.

I have one more final next week and then I am officially done with classes until September. Two full months of no school…I cannot begin to describe the joy I feel at the prospect of a true summer break. Of course work will keep me busy and I am hoping to work a great deal more on my dissertation. But there will also be plenty of blissfully carefree moments to simply luxuriate in the pleasure of just living life.

For nearly an entire month, I have wedding activities scheduled into my planner. A bachelorette party in the city, a bridesmaid luncheon, a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and a wedding all in the first week of July. And then, two glorious trips away from the city, away from the stress. The excitement builds each day with more planning (for the irony of less planning and more relaxation). Only a few days after the first wedding, I will depart for New Orleans, an extra long weekend bachelorette party with friends from the early days of high school. Women that share my idea of fun, all of us far beyond the desire of spending drunken nights in bars and stripclubs. Instead, we have booked hotel rooms in a beautiful hotel in the French quarter. Our plans consist of lounging poolside, breakfasts of beignets and coffee, pampering spa services, browsing the local markets, and playing penny slots at the casino. We’ll arrive with thoughtful gifts for the bride-to-be and some sexy lingerie for her honeymoon in Antigua. Two weeks later, the boyfriend and I will depart once again, my hometown island our destination. A weekend of family meals, afternoons on the beach, and wedding activities with my oldest friends. The boyfriend will leave at the end of the weekend for work in Wisconsin while I spend three extra days with my family, enjoying my first trip home since before last Christmas.

In the midst of all the travels, I have set in mind a pleasurable personal agenda. Lots of reading, more frequent writing, and the beginning stages of learning Italian. Additionally, I am setting a few novel goals for myself, activities that will surely shock those who know me best. While the sis and I have plans to join a nearby gym, I am determined to begin exercising, at least in some form or fashion. And for this girl that relies on the microwave for nearly all matters of cooking, I intend to learn a few new recipes and attempt to enjoy the process of preparing a meal as much as I already enjoy the process of eating it. And then there’s art, my long neglected friend. While I can never claim to be an artist with my limited talent in this arena, I am eager to buy new canvases and dabble in some heavy acrylics.

Beyond all this, who knows what the summer will bring? Whatever it is, I am eager for two months of freedom and the simple pleasures of living life, day by day.