Summertime Hustle

So if you’ve been wracking your brain wondering why I’ve been pretty absent in the blogospere lately–or if you’ve even noticed at all–I’ve got just one word for you.

Summer.

The fun, the sun, the Georgia humidity.

Seriously, who doesn’t love that?

Most of my friends are teachers, so for them Summer means a two month-ish reprieve from work obligations. A much-needed break where they can sleep in, catch up on their Netflix queue, soaking up some sun while lazy-daying it by the pool. For me, however, summer is the busiest time of the year. Working for a landscaping company, work is naturally more chaotic this time of year. You never realize how freaking fast grass grows in the summer until you’re literally keeping track of it.

Then of course there’s the nannying stuff. During the school year, I only keep them after school (aside from holidays and stuff). But when there is no school, my time with them doubles. That means twice the entertaining, twice the cleaning up, twice the work. Add that to the increased landscaping invoices and billing and what not, and yeah, it’s a lot to get done each day.

Not that I’m complaining. I say that a lot when I try to explain to my friends why summer is so busy for me, but I really do love my job. I get to wear whatever I want. During the school year, I get to sleep in and don’t have to be at work until noon most days. I get to play and laugh with two hilarious and amazing kids. They keep me young. They keep me silly. They keep me happy–for the most part, when they’re not screaming at each other and trying to negotiate their daily required reading time yet again.

I love hanging out with these kids and seeing their personalities and interests grow with each year we spend together. I love being the person who (tries) to keep the home office organized, who is (usually) on top of payments and emails and all that other computer work. I love that watching two kids over the summer gives me the perfect excuse to relax by the pool and work on my tan almost every day. But probably my favorite part is how much I love being the one to help make their family’s day-to-day life even a little bit easier…

Actually, no, the best part is definitely the pool.

All joking aside, I really do love my job. And even if my writing career magically skyrocketed overnight and I could all of a sudden financially support myself on that writing alone, I can’t imagine not seeing my kids every day. And I hate to think of them growing and changing without me knowing his favorite baseball team this year or which song she’s had stuck in her head all week. I’m sure that sounds really silly, but it’s true.

Wow, this post got a lot mushier than I’d planned for my Author Update. I’m clearly more sleep deprived than I thought. In summation, I guess just don’t be surprised if you hear from me a bit less over the next several weeks. On the bright side: staying busy=time flying. I can’t believe it’s already almost the end of June. Summer is halfway gone, which means I’m that much closer to sleeping in again!

On the book front, still on submission meaning I’m still waiting for responses from some editors on my manuscript. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before I’ve got some news of the official variety. And when/if I do, I promise my faithful followers will be the first to know…well, after my agent and my family and the neighbors who hear me crying and shouting with joy through the walls.

Fingers crossed and wish me luck!