I posted about last summer’s cross-country adventure yesterday. I realize I haven’t posted much about my two favorite characters, Tom and Huck, recently. Today, I’ll show you what we’ve been up to this summer:
Visiting with old friends:
Thoughtful Husband is on the left. My neighbor, who introduced me to TH when we were 16, is next to TH. The man next to me attended nursery school and elementary school with me and then high school with TH. We’ve been friends for a long time. Now our kids are friends, too. We look a little grubby in this photo not just because we’re getting older, but because we were camping when we took the photo. 
What else have I been doing this summer? Nurturing a small vegetable garden:
But what about those two mischief-makers, Tom and Huck? What are they doing?
Huck (age eight) went to football camp. (Not to worry; it’s non-tackle for his age group).
Huck loved being at football camp, which was every afternoon for one week. He is more determined than ever to play tackle football. (!) That’s him in the red shirt, looking every bit the serious competitor.
Meanwhile, Tom is home practicing his skateboard tricks while Huck mugs for the camera:
And if defying gravity on a skateboard isn’t enough, Tom (age 11) was invited to a surf lesson/birthday party recently. Here he is in his wetsuit, getting ready to get in the Pacific Ocean. (!)
I was a little worried about riptides and sharks (hey, that’s what us mothers are for — to worry about all that might go wrong and try to prevent it from happening to our kids. It’s a neverending task. Of course, it’s also our job to step out of the way after reasonable preparation and precaution.) 
Tom did great, and I was happy to see a number of other mothers and fathers at the beach that day. Here he is standing on his surfboard. I had to restrain myself from shouting, “Are you being careful?” from the beach. He was with an instructor, though, so I thought I’d let the instructor handle everything while I watched from the dry, warm comfort of the sand.
We’re off to a good start and enjoying our summer. I hope you are as well.
See you in the stacks!
