The last time I had a summer off I was still in high school. Finding myself out of work at the start of the summer was not terribly surprising given the number of previous layoffs but several of us suspected the decision would come later in the year. I’m glad it didn’t.
In the end, I had a new job just as the fall term for Sam was kicking off. Of course, when I was laid off, I didn’t know that would happen. The majority of the people I know in a similar position had struggled for a year or more to find their next role. I believed that would be the case for me too.
I had a list of activities to do each week to qualify for unemployment and I definitely wanted to find a role quickly so I did more than they required. I applied to jobs. I talked to people. I studied. I did all the things.
None of that is what I think about when I remember the summer though.
The main thing that has stuck with me is the joy of sitting outside in the sunlight with my first cup of coffee in the morning. The blue sky, the red leaves on the maple, the birds flitting around, the neighborhood dogs stopping by for water. I drove to the highest point in the city one day just to lie in the grass and stare at the sky. I spent a whole lot of time doing nothing but letting my thoughts wander.
Having peace and space to sit with my own thoughts stands in stark contrast to the utter chaos that had been my job. Being able to spend so much of that time in the sunlight was particularly special.
Some other highlights from the summer
A pair of hawks built a nest in a tree just down the road and raised a chick. The crows didn’t like this at all, but it was a joy to witness. This photo is most likely from the fledgling’s first time out of the nest. It stayed in my neighbor’s back yard for the better part of an afternoon.
I can’t talk about that summer without also talking about the cats. Anytime I stopped moving there was a cat in my lap. In bed, I had two cats beside my feet and a third nearby to climb onto my shoulders as soon as I got up. It was both lovely and overwhelming. I sometimes made excuses to leave the house just to not have a cat on me. By the time Ally moved back in though, I was generally quite content living my life as cat furniture. There’s a truly embarrassing number of cat photos on my phone.
