Vacation Time Is Over

I just got a phone call from Hubby; he was picking up his luggage in the Pittsburgh airport and will be home in 2-3 hours.

I love my husband, but this week went way too fast. I am guilty of enjoying these past seven spouse-free days. No adult-sized socks to pick up (still had some kid ones), no tissues to pick up around all the trash cans throughout the house, no newspapers to pick up off the bathroom floor, and no mountains of dishes to wash. No father-daughter evening altercations that usually result in tears and slammed doors (the daughter, not the father), no bedtime conversations that get me aggravated or worked up and unable to sleep while Hubby rolls over and immediately starts snoring.

Yes, there were things I missed: his "I love you"s, hugs and kisses; his cute phone calls (he forgot his cell phone charger or I probably would have heard from him more). I had to scramble to find people to watch Mabel in the mornings while I was at work, had to deal with all the dog duties by myself, and I haven't had time to mow the lawn, so I realize how much he does help me around the house. And I've been totally nonchalant about supper this past week, so I do look forward to his good cooking when he gets back.

His return also signals the quickly ending summer: when he gets back we only have a week left of summer break, then he and Mabel go back to school. Next week is the other harbinger of summer's end, the Somerset County Fair. We'll go at least once next week, maybe twice. I have to go get my favorite Stromboli, look at all the livestock, Mabel will ride all the carnival rides, and we might go see my friend's brother do some mud bogging. (For those of you not living in rural, backwoods USA, it's kind of like a tractor pull, except you're driving your truck around in a bunch of mud to see if you can get farther than the other people competing. Scintillating entertainment.)

Back in my newspaper days this was always a crazy, hectic time of year: I was rushing around covering fair events as well as compiling football, soccer and volleyball articles and photographs for special sections of the paper. August was always the month from hell back then and I dreaded it. Now it's almost the reverse: I see the end of the chaotic summer in sight and look forward to returning to some normalcy. It's funny how things change.