What a weird strange summer it has been. In the beginning, it felt like it would last forever. My son’s two-week camp had been canceled, baseball was canceled and our community pool was closed. Our summers in the past have been filled with days at the pool and this summer was just plain weird without it.
All that being said, it appears that we made it through. Today my boys start school. We decided to do the homeschool option provided by our public school to keep the boys enrolled but to also provide some sort of consistency in our lives. And while at the beginning of the summer we felt isolated, we started to venture out more and more with family as the summer progressed.
Here’s a rundown of our summer adventures this weird 2020 summer.
June
Well, we started the summer with an unexpected expense! What we thought was a problem with our well pump, ended up being a problem with our well. Instead of waiting for the whole thing to go, we decided to drill a new well. It made us a little nervous as you never know what kind of water you’ll find. But thankfully, we hit good water and we’ll now be set for life.
The well provided plenty of entertainment for the cousins. In fact, it was the only entertainment in town so… we really enjoyed watching the process happen.
My husband’s parents visited in June which gave us a much-needed break in the mundane. We went to Yellow Springs, Ohio to hike and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with each other outside. June was the first month we started visiting with family after COVID hit, so it was a really blessed month.
July
July 4th kicked off with a bang! Since our local fireworks were canceled, we enjoyed our own fun with neighbors. Everyone stayed with their little group and we enjoyed a nice night. Independence day is my favorite holiday of the year. It was sad when everything was canceled but it ended up being pretty awesome when we got to see fireworks in our own backyard from the many homes that had their own fireworks display this year.
Mid-month we ventured to Tennessee to visit my husband’s family. It’s absolutely beautiful there and we enjoyed a fun-filled day a the lake. The water is so clear there compared to our lakes in Ohio.
August
Our biggest adventure of the summer was our road trip to South Dakota. I won’t go into too much detail, since I already shared the details. It was weird timing to leave when all my tomatoes started to come on. Being the first year of our garden, I am thoroughly pleased by how everything turned out. We planted tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, and more. The only casualty was the green beans that were mostly eaten by rabbits.
After months of not being able to see my grandma, we were finally able to visit a few weeks ago. We had to stay six feet away from her and the boys had to stay behind the caution tape. But it was really great to see her.
Last week we attended our first Amish auction. I didn’t end up buying very much, but again it was nice to be out – and it was nice to have a homemade donut.
Life still feels a bit weird but it’s moving towards a new normal. This summer we took the extra time we had and camped outside in our backyard, roamed the fields around us, did a little organizing, and found family treasures in places that needed to be organized. This fall will be different just like this summer has been. But, we are grateful to have our health and time together as a family.
Also, I’m looking forward to getting into more of a routine starting this week.
What’s been your favorite part of Summer 2020?
I enjoy reading your stories and thank you for all the recipes My wife truly enjoys that I love cooking and baking especially now that I am retired. All your recipies have turned out excellent – thank you.