I'm fairly sure I'm the only one still here in my department. It's tempting to leave a couple of minutes early (except for that pesky phone policy), but I actually like staying when it's quiet like this. I can get my work done without interruption. Except the interruptions I give myself. Hah. I can listen to my podcasts or music, chug along, or not chug along. It's peaceful, and I like it.

Still, I'll be leaving in two short minutes to go perform at another Jazz Vespers at a local church. This will be our third time playing there, and it's pretty laid back and fun. It's also a short gig, over by 7 PM, so I get to be home before the kids go to bed. I like that, too.

Happy First Day of Summer (not Spring, as I texted to Greg earlier. No wonder he didn't text back).

I do so love summer. I love the early morning quietness, when the sun is golden and the birds are singing. It’s so much easier to get out of bed on those warm days, even on those days when I have to get up and go to work. There’s no cold air to deal with after poking my nose out from under the electric blanket, no desire to stay in the hot shower for a few hours and delay the chill present when I turn it off. I love being able to walk out the door without bundling up the children and trying to find that persnickety, persistently lost mitten. I love being able to start the car up and go, rather than let it run for twenty minutes as I brush a foot of snow off of my windshield. I love the afternoons spent outside, playing “camping” and “pirates” and “chase Momma around the yard”. I love coming home from work and spreading a sheet in the yard for a picnic dinner of cheese, bread and fruit. I even love the summer storms, wild and furious, and over in time to reflect the setting sun off of every drenched leaf. I love having the windows open to the evening birdsong, and then the crickets and tree frogs as night deepens. Things in general seem so much easier in the summer, lighter and less serious. I am so thankful that summer is almost here.