Time Flies - Really.

This has been a strange summer.  It went by faster than any before I think.  My daughter home to live in April, leaving behind her 2 year old, a ton of bills and a pile of legal problems to clean up.  She has done well.  Her mind and heart have cleared, her habits and efforts are commendable to exemplary, and her health has improved amazingly.  She still has hurdles to jump over, but her future looks more than possible, it is bright.

In April, I also acquired a dog.  It's been a little over a year since my old ShihTzu died.  I had decided I wanted a larger dog that I would be able to run with early in the mornings and take on trips, etc.  I looked for a long time, but toward the end of April, I started talking to a person about taking in a wild lab/shepherd mix pup.  He was a pitiful little thing the first time I saw him.  Mostly black, scared silly and void of pet grace, I piled him into my car, brought him home and began making him my dog.  It's been a long process and it's not yet complete, but he is a good dog and I believe will be even better.
Toward the end of May, Olivia came for the summer.  She's 7, noisy and creative.  Sometimes she's helpful; sometimes she's demanding; always she's my princess.  Other than a week in July, she stayed until the second week in August.  Suddenly my house seems empty.  My pool seems empty.  My life seems upended.
After a week at camp, my mother came to stay with us for two weeks.  It was a happy, sad, defeating, fulfilling, whirlwind of days.  She really wanted to be the only child she never was, but alas, my house was full, my life was full.  We didn't reach any great improvements in our relationship.  We didn't gain any great understanding or mother/daughter bond.  But when the time was gone, I was saddened by the loss.
The week after mom went home, my granddaughter Kenlei joined the ranks for a week.  She's quite the opposite of her cousin Olivia.  She's quiet, decisive, stubborn but submissive in ways.  She and Kenlei played constantly and I didn't really have much time with either.  When I swam with them, I usually got out and just supervised after a short time of being ignored while they played.  I must say I definitely like them better one at a time.  But we enjoyed what we had for the time.
Liv went home for a week after Kenlei left and we began the renovation of our hall bathroom.  The tub that had developed leaks and drainage problems was extracted with some difficulty and my husband began discovering and remedying plumbing problems.  Liv came back and spent two more weeks.  It was a fun time and we watched the Olympics together.  She made a ceramic angel to hold her jewelry and helped me with a variety of tasks.  It was a good two weeks for the most part.
The day I took Olivia home, my granddaughter Hannah came to stay while she starts a new teaching position -her first- and looks for an apartment.  She thought she'd found her first personal dwelling, but then reconsidered when she thought about being alone on a country highway night after night.  So we said "Take your time."  It's nice having her bubbly creative energy in our home.
My fall teaching schedule begins next week in my studio.  While I am excited and ready to go, I am a bit tired and long for a respite.  It was planned that my nieces would visit the second week of September, bringing a week of carefree gadabout creative craziness, but that had to be postponed for a bit.  My bucket list for this year includes several activities that may not come to be.  My dog is not a running, traveling buddy yet.  My daughter has issues that still need resolved and I have a bathroom renovation in progress.  Yesterday I was served a summons for jury duty!
Sigh.