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Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

You are here: Home / life / Days Are Getting Shorter

Days Are Getting Shorter

August 22, 2008 Filed Under: life

When I was a kid, summers were long. Getting out of school in June left me looking at this expanse of free time that never seemed to end. There was time for camp and swimming and biking and catching frogs and going on vacation and trying on back to school clothes and chasing after the ice cream man.

I know that in relative terms, 2 months to a 9 year old is going to seem a lot longer than it will to a 31 year old, if you consider that 2 months is almost 2% of a 9 year old’s life and .5% of a 31 year old’s life, (and seriously, that is a little beyond my mathematical skills, but we can talk about that another time).

I suppose if you take into account the responsibilities of a 9 year old vs. those of a 31 year old, it adds to the explanation of summer feeling leisurely then when it doesn’t now. At nine I didn’t have repainting the mint chocolate chip green bathroom, researching the local garbage companies to see if we’re getting the best deal, paying the mortgage, cooking dinner, getting my glasses readjusted, reading that thing that I promised I’d read, replying to the e-mails I need to reply to, emptying the dehumidifier, feeding the dog, cleaning the kitty litter, or turning the compost on my to do list.

My summer to do list looked like this:

  1. Go to camp
  2. Come home from camp
  3. Climb tree
  4. Catch frog
  5. Get muddy
  6. Hide muddy clothes to avoid getting yelled at for being muddy

The list comparison and the lifetime percentages don’t fully explain the fact that I swear about 3 hours ago it was 1:30 in the afternoon, and now it’s past 11:00 at night. Today whizzed by, and I feel like I need a few extra hours. Bonus time or something. And we won’t even get into how it felt like June was last week.

Everything on my 31 year old list will get done (well, maybe not the bathroom, it’s been on the to do list for several years now), but it doesn’t leave much time for lolling around, studying blades of grass, looking for lightening bugs, or running like one of Pavlov’s dogs when I hear the ice cream man’s bell.

6 Comments

Comments

  1. Ben says

    August 22, 2008 at 11:24 am

    Ugh. Adult to do lists are the worst.

    And I mean adult as in grown-up, not as in X-rated. Those to do lists would probably be better.

    Reply
  2. Noelle says

    August 22, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    You’re so right. Summers were much longer and filled with opportunity about 20 years ago. That’s why as adults, it’s important for us to just take days off, I think.

    Reply
  3. Allie says

    August 22, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    Ben — Hahahaha. If only there were a way to merge the two . . .

    Noelle — I think you’re right. Playing hookey is important.

    Reply
  4. The Modern Gal says

    August 23, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    Oh, how I miss summer camp.

    Reply
  5. nancypearlwannabe says

    September 1, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    I totally feel you on this- it seems like just yesterday I was so relieved to be done school for the summer. Now tomorrow I’m going back! What the heck?

    Reply
  6. Courtney says

    September 20, 2008 at 9:55 pm

    Ah, yes. Summer felt like FOREVER when I was a kid, and now it flies by so fast I hardly remember it when it’s over. Sad.

    Reply

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Glamour shot. #dailyroxydog #huskymix #chihuahuami Glamour shot. #dailyroxydog #huskymix #chihuahuamix #huskychihuahuadachshund #dog
How’s relaxing going, you ask? Well, so far I’ How’s relaxing going, you ask? Well, so far I’ve cleaned the gutters and raced Roxy to the vet ER to determine she did not (thankfully) eat any of the scrap of composite plastic decking she magically found out of freaking nowhere. (Getting pet insurance was the smartest thing I’ve ever done). I’m extremely bad at rest. Although I do find puttering around the house kind of meditative. Cleaning the gutters exhausted my body, but calmed my mind (briefly).
This is our neighbor, Francis. We visit Francis a This is our neighbor, Francis. We visit Francis a couple times a week and we all like to stand around staring at each other. It’s lovely. Francis seems just as interested in us as we are in them. (And look at that stance! And Francis’s little paw resting on the ledge 😍). #groundsquirrel #groundsquirrelsofinstagram #dailyroxydog #dogstagram #neighbors
I don’t think there’s anything more comforting I don’t think there’s anything more comforting than lying in a hammock. I’m exhausted. I’ve pushed against the limits of my being very hard all summer working on my draft and I definitely need to soak up some calm quiet on a large scale. Which is also to say if I owe you a call/email/text, it might take me a week or two to circle back. I’m going to catch up with myself and then with everyone else this time. Which I think might mean spending as much time as I can lying in my hammock listening to birds. #rest
There are few greater joys than a long walk with a There are few greater joys than a long walk with a curious little dog. #dailyroxydog #seenonmywalk #dogsofinstagram
All I ever want is an endless stream of tiny snack All I ever want is an endless stream of tiny snacks to crunch while I’m working. But since I have MCAS and it limits my diet, most of what I eat is food I make myself. Thankfully, corn tortillas are a safe food for me (everyone’s MCAS is different — so please don’t take my safe foods as any kind of sign they’re safe for someone else who has MCAS). Today, I remembered that I  have tiny cookie cutters, so I made myself a bowl of mini chips. I tossed them with lime juice and salt and threw them in the air fryer. And then, of course, because I don’t want to waste food, I did the same for the scrap pieces (which somehow tasted even better!). So happy! #tortillachips
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