What did I learn this summer?

The dog days of summer are upon us! I couldn’t help but notice today whilst suffocating in the hot, sultry sun. Yep, I’m back at work (today it was teleprompting in an arena at Clinton Anderson’s DownUnder ranch) after a long month of cool days up North. Cooler than I would have ordered but I don’t think I’m in charge of the world’s thermostat, in fact I feel less and less in charge of quite frankly: anything. Life is a funny thing, just when we think we have it figured out it throws us a curve ball.

I attended my husband’s friend and co-worker’s funeral this summer. It was a sudden death, very untimely, and unexpected. It was a sad affair. A curve ball indeed, one of those sneaky pitches that have you wondering after the strike. Why him? A soul with so much more to give.

My friend’s mother passed away. It was expected but how can you ever really prepare for emptiness, for the curve balls that you think will never come across the plate?

I attended a friend’s second wedding this summer. It was quite a fairytale affair! The wedding took place on the quaint island of Mackinac where cars are not allowed only bicycles and carriages. The princess had tried on the glass slipper before and thought it fit, yet to her dismay the glass shattered and left her barefoot and forlorn … HOWEVER her REAL prince charming arrived in stately fashion and swept her off her bare feet. What did she get out of the deal? New Jimmy Choo’s, and a great husband! Yep, my friend was at a full count when she hit a homerun!

So what did I learn this summer? In this game of life, sometimes there’s scoring runs and sometimes there’s strikes. But I think we would all agree that we want to step up to the plate.