What's up with Whatsit

Summertime, and the living is easy

What I've been reading
Wouldn't Take Nothin' for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou.
Full Disclosure by William Safire.
. . . and that's it. You would think that during the summer I would have a bunch. I read to escape stress, which evaporates when I'm not at work.

What started today
Today is my first day of summer break - officially. The reason I count today as the first official day instead of Saturday is because I'm off on Saturday anyway, and today is a "work day." What have I done today? Cleaned up my house and made a trip to the grocery store. In other words, stuff that I usually spend my whole weekend doing.

A good investment
Oh, and guess what? I did what I consider to be one of the quintessentially American things to do: I joined the YMCA. Reason? My kids have been about to die to go swimming, and this Y has an indoor pool. Unfortunately, I won't be using the pool - the Whatsit body rebels at the mere thought of a swimsuit. The idea of a mere few sqaure inches of cloth separating me from the world is too much for me to contemplate in my elder years.

Still, my husband can take them to swim, and that will get them out of my hair for a while. If I do go, it will be to use the nice air-conditioned walking track. That is my main argument with walking in Mississippi in the summer - too hot! Just as an example, go find the nearest sauna to you, and try walking a mile in it. I'm exaggerating, but not much.

Another feature at the Y is the third Friday night of each month: Parent's Night Out! Hooray! I knew when I saw this interesting thing that I had made a good investment. I love my kids, but they are with me every minute, just about. I don't feel the least bit guilty about needing a break sometimes.

Small town politics
Our little town has been the site of much campaigning of late. The election is tomorrow. We have 5 alderman positions up for grabs, as well as mayor. One of the aldermen used to be our neighbor. Another one is the husband of Emily's second-grade teacher. So we know we will vote for them, but our other 3 votes are open to debate. I met one of the fellows when he knocked on the door, and he seems nice, plus he is an assistant principal in the same school district I'm in, so he's good, to my mind.

Usually if we aren't here when the candidate knocks on our door, they will leave their leaflet stuck in the door. The other day, one of the mayoral candidates left a whole gallon sized bag on our porch, and we got our hopes up that it was something good. Guess what? We are now the recipients of an extra-nice . . . flyswatter. I had about made up my mind not to vote for her, and that sealed it.