A nearly perfect day.

A friend suggested I get into writing how wonderful my Saturday was, and I think she has a great point. Too often, I rely on my Facebook to spread the news about my life. Many of my friends and family read that, but in this case, it provides insufficient space for all the sordid details.

If you've been even remotely awake and alert this June, you will know we have seen our fair share of rain. More than our fair share, to be honest. We are breaking records all over the place! It's starting to get a little more than a little depressing, so imagine my delight to awaken yesterday to rays of sunshine across my bed. Glorious!

Scott and I discussed our plans for the day, and came up with the ever-exciting plan to clean a garage (maybe two, if we really get into it!). Before we could get to the first garage, we had to hoe out a bunch of garbage that has collected there since the breakdown of the truck (back in, oh, 1983, I believe). Before we could take the garbage to the dump (and since the breakdown of the truck), we had to clean out the back of my van to make space for copious amounts of stinky, fly-infested trash. Hm, you can see how our plans evolved rather quickly from one odious task to another to another. But eventually, we found our starting point and got to work.

With Sam sorting bottles and cans for the redemption center, Scott sorting gross trash from grosser trash, and me working on the inside of the van, we managed to make some headway. Before we knew it, we were off to the town dump with our first load.

This marks my second ever visit to the Hebron Dump in our nearly five years of living here. As luck would have it, I was able to congratulate Caroll, the town dump guy, on his retirement from dump guydom. I am reasonably convinced the whole town came out for the last day of his 21 years of service. I think I need to spend a whole Saturday down at the dump, just observing and chronicling the comings and goings of the town of Hebron... there is much news to be had there! Maybe more on that another time.

Once we got back home, Scott lit the burn pile that has been growing since the first time we mowed this lawn five years ago. I worked on grilling hot dogs (not on the burn pile, mind you) (my second ever time using this grill... are you seeing a pattern?) while Scott added a waterproof liner to the van for the second most-icky, rain-soaked, mold-infested pile of garbage from last Fall's basement flooding. Yum. Some kids played in the yard, others played in the pool, and the sun was shining, my friend!

We enjoyed our basic, summer lunch at the picnic table, poolside... hot dogs with grilled buns, and cherry kool-aid. Perfect! That done, Scott finished filling the van while I lounged in the sun for a bit (officially, we call it lifeguarding). Once the boys were ready to go, I got a crossword puzzle and headed out to sit in the shade to tend the burn piles. This is my best memory of the day, and I specifically closed my eyes to soak in the moment... a slight breeze directed the smoke (and bugs) away from me, while I relaxed in the dappled afternoon light. The kids played nicely in the background. The dog was too hot to complain. For a full fifteen minutes at least, no one asked me for anything! It was like heaven!

OK, I jest. It was probably closer to two hours I sat out there tending the fires (about as much work as lifeguarding, btw... only shadier), but it really was very nice. Scott and the kids came and went... at one point Scott even delivered a margarita out to me ("lime salt, and everything!") before dinner. Ah, and dinner! Kate grilled salmon with dill, and served it with rice pilaf and broccoli. Clouds that had threatened all day finally rolled in, but the rain held off, and we roasted marshmallows over the coals ("marshed marshmallows" as Sophie calls it).

We needed a day like that, especially when it's followed by a day like this (read that: more frikkin' rain!). I will cherish the memory of that Saturday in June, when Sophie skipped out to check on me by the fire... fresh from a little skinny-dipping jaunt herself, ready to warm her buns by the fire... so innocent, completely unaware of the social impropriety, not a care in the world. In my mind it will remain a day of singing, splashing, getting along, smiling, and relaxing, all the while achieving some level of actual productivity.

Did we get even one garage cleaned out? No. We'll have to do that when the sun comes out again (at this rate, we'll revisit the idea in another five years).