I haven’t posted here much this summer because it’s been so busy. But everyone’s busy, everyone always says how busy they are. What does that even mean to me?

We’ve had several different kinds of busy around here. Prepping for new job busy, summer adventures with a toddler busy, organizing the house busy, sewing and writing busy, making jam busy, feeding and speech therapy busy. Sometimes all of these busies feel so consuming that I forget I do occasionally spend time with other adults and don’t just sit in front of my computer or run a two-year-old all over the county.

It’s been fun around here for adults lately. Sometimes with H in tow, and sometimes even without her!

My mom and I went to see Lionel Richie at PNC Arts Center at the end of June. That was the best time we’ve had together in a while. The tickets were my birthday present to her back in March, and we got down to Lionel All. Night. Long (heh heh). I took my mom to see Aretha Franklin years ago at Radio City, and we haven’t done a concert together since. We should do this more often. The matching t-shirts were my idea.

For July 4th Adam, H, and I went to a lobster bake that my sorority’s alumnae chapter planned at a sister’s house. I’m actually the programming chair for this chapter, so what I really mean is I begged my sorority sister Audrey (a Mainer) and her husband Nick (a great cook) to do one of their famous lobster bakes for a July 4th event. Then we asked for someone to volunteer their house, ha! And Robin graciously volunteered, so we feasted on delicious sea bugs, corn, steak, all kinds of meaty goodness. I made mac and cheese. H chased Robin’s dog around the yard in tiny human bliss. It was glorious to hang out with good friends and great food.

One of my favorite people on earth, Meredith, is getting married in September! I was so excited for a girls’ night at her bridal shower. Her sister did all the decorations for the wine and cheese event, aren’t they awesome? (This also reminds me that I still have Met photos that I never posted).

Mere is my foodie soul sister. I sat with her and her childhood and college friends, who were just so much fun. It makes my heart happy to see her surrounded by such great people in her life. It also makes me happy to remember that cheese plate. We were the only table with empty trays by the end of the night, I do not know how anyone else restrained themselves. I mean, Humboldt Fog. Humboldt! Fog!

I was also in Manhattan last month for a toy preview event, and H spent the day and night at my mom’s house. I grabbed a gooey cheese slice at a standing table in a corner pizzeria in Midtown before I went to see Godzilla by myself. I’m a cheap date, but the joys of enjoying a slice of pizza and a movie completely alone cannot be understated.

After the movie and the toy preview, Adam and I had date night and stayed in a hotel in Manhattan. We walked around Midtown all evening, had a yummy Thai dinner at One Chef Thai, and went to Discovery Times Square’s The Art of the Brick exhibit. Nathan Sawaya’s Lego recreations of famous art pieces were the best thing about the exhibit, and they were so worth a visit. Some of his original Lego stuff was incredibly heavy-handed with the symbolism and Meaning Of Life references. Not our favorite. But he also has this great section of photographs where one item in the photo has been made out of Lego and worked into a composition–a red dress, a cloud. The photos and the Lego pieces were on display, and those were incredible.

I’ve even made some time for myself to enjoy dinner out on the patio. Adam was out at a baseball game with work a couple of Fridays ago, and I managed to get a very tired H to bed rather early. So I pigged out on a glorious, quiet meal outside with my laptop and an adult beverage. That was bliss…until the mosquitoes came out.

I love that kid of ours, but I like my grownup time, too. It’s hard to get enough of it sometimes. So I like that it’s been a busy summer for my grownup self, too, not just my mommy self. Busy is good.