We’re in the dog days of summer here in Mahoosuc Mills. Sure, we’ve had our share of hot, sticky days and some wicked thunder boomers, but I don’t mind all that much. Because you know what? For every one of those scorchers, we have two or three perfect summer days. Charlie calls those “a bluebird of a day.” And when we get one, I’m savoring every minute of it.
Charlie and me have been eating dinner on the deck most every night, looking out into the back yard, watching the birds and our chubby groundhog who lives under the shed. Between bites, one of us always seems to say, “We’re pretty lucky, you know that?” And the other will agree, “We sure are.”
The Women Who Run with the Moose have been getting together, too, every week for 
our girls night. We’ve been taking turns hosting outside on our decks, patios or screened-in gazebos. We laugh, eat and drink and revel in how familiar this all feels. Granted, it’s still weird not to hug each other, (well, for everyone but Shirley, who wasn’t much of a hugger to begin with). But that doesn’t stop us from having fun. No way!
It’s strange right now, how things can seem pretty normal for stretches of time. Then you’re reminded. There’s a news flash on the radio, or Charlie and me go down to the DQ to get a Peanut Buster Parfait and everyone’s in line, 6’ apart, wearing masks. Or I make a batch of whoopie pies and realize I can’t just hop in the car and bring a couple to my dad down to Mahoosuc Green. Even the empty parking spaces downtown, something I would have gotten pretty excited about during a normal summer, seem kind of spooky. That was too easy, you think, pulling into a slot.
Then there’s my Plexiglas view of the world down to the A&P. Don’t get me wrong. I love that plexi, the masks, and the physical distancing, because those precautions are keeping us safe. But I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. Actually, I don’t want to ever get used to it, you know?
Aren’t we living in a crazy time? Every once in awhile, when I’ve had too many reminders of this weirdness one after another, my mind starts racing into the future. I get to thinking, What’s going to happen when the weather gets cold, and we can no longer get together with friends on the deck? Zoom was fun for awhile, but I’m tired of it. Who isn’t? And w
hat about the holidays? You can’t just Zoom Down Home Holiday Festival. Ain’t gonna happen.
Then I have to take a deep breath and pull myself together, back to the here and now. To Mahoosuc Mills and our tidy little double wide. To supper on our deck with my high school sweetheart. To the end of another bluebird of a summer day here in Maine.
“We’re pretty lucky.”
“We sure are.”
That’s if for now. Stay safe and catch you on the flip side!
Listen to Ida Tell It: Mid-Summer Reflections