Things For Which To Look Forward

I can feel it coming on quickly - though not quickly enough for me. It's almost that time of year: summer. And that can only mean tons of fun to anticipate. Because it isn't here yet, and I am impatient for it, I will make a list of all the things I simply can't wait to do and see and experience during a little thing I'll call SummerTime Extravaganza 2011.

**The dance recital. Yep, in less than a month I will wear some sequins and pull my hair into a curly ponytail with the rest of the teenagers and perform on a high school stage in the dance recital. It's silly and possibly (okay, let's be real: absolutely) age inappropriate. But I don't care one bit. I will never outgrow it or the excitement it brings. All the rehearsals leading up to it, sweating in the early June heat, running dances over and over - there are few things better. I know it will end eventually, but for this year, I will totally enjoy it. (I've never subscribed to this outdated notion of growing up anyway. This is just that belief put into motion.)

**Pool parties. In fact, until it turned into winter again, we already enjoyed this! Who knew that digging up your yard and filling it with water and concrete could turn into instant fun? (Okay, everyone knows it. I'm being flippant.) It's great to get all your friends together and chill out poolside. In fact, I had this great idea to begin my own "Real Housewives of Yancey County" every afternoon, until I had to resign my housewife position and go to work. (My sister, the true "Housewives" expert, tells me that some Housewives, in fact, work at the same time they claim to be Housewives. I just don't know if I have the time to both make a living defending the masses and sip cocktails every afternoon. I'm just not an overachiever.)

**Parkway Playhouse. Need I say more? I didn't think so. Even though I am on play restriction to one show a summer, it will be amazing and those daily rehearsals can't come soon enough.

**Company. Usually my family visits and this summer, a few friends are planning trips south. It's the perfect time to catch up and enjoy all that western North Carolina has to offer.

And that is pretty much how SummerTime Extravaganza 2011 is going to go down. The end.