I've some serious lolling about to do

Yesterday was the first day of Summer, both officially and for me personally.  We vacationed on the last week of Spring (which felt like the dead of Summer, with 98 degree temps in Florida).  Now we are back in the mountains where it is tolerable to sit outside and soak up the suburban sights of lawn sprinklers and kids playing in the cul-de-sac. 

I am slowly adjusting to this lifestyle.  One challenge is that my home is surrounded by neighbor kids who attend the school where I work.  Remember when you were a kid and you saw a teacher in public?  It was the strangest feeling.  They exist outside of that building?  Turns out, it is every bit as awkward for the faculty member, especially if they are not feeling their professional best at the moment, which in most instances I am not when stepping out to the mailbox or screaming at my kids not to play in the mud.

I must insert a caveat here.  My new pet peeve is being called a teacher.  I am not a teacher.  That's the whacky thing about my job.  I am trained as a counselor, they hired me to be a counselor, I'm great at being a counselor.  Yet, a large portion of my time is spent in a classroom teaching kids.  Granted, I'm teaching character concepts and life lessons, which I am passionate about because an education devoid of this type of learning is not an education in my opinion.  I am a guidance counselor who teaches.

Why am I talking about work when I am supposed to be lolling about?

Many people have noticed that the overwhelming majority of conversations with me include a book recommendation.  Here's the one for today.  If you need a good laugh at cultural mores of the South, look up and get a book about the Sweet Potato Queens.  They use the phrase lolling about to describe the serious discipline of doing very little in the summer.  It can include reading a magazine, talking to a friend on the phone, or painting your nails.  But not much else.

So far, my pattern (established only yesterday) is to loll about, then putter around, then loll about some more.  Puttering is my term for slowly doing tasks around the house, not based on priority, but based on what looks fun or rewarding at the moment.  I will let dust sit on furniture or floors keep their grime and instead put pictures on the wall and spiff up my bedroom.  If I'm on the way to the hamper and something interesting catches my eye, I'll just stop and do it.  When I become the slightest bit interested in sitting down, back to lolling about it is!

My first Summer off in 18 years.  Good times!

My kids, you ask?  Since it's only day 2, the novelty of Summer break has not worn off yet.  I expect I'm on borrowed time there.