Introductions

I could feel it happening the next to last day of school.  I did not expect to see her yet.  Her earlier-than-expected arrival took me by surprise.  

Summer Emily.   

Summer Emily is me when I’m not teaching.  Summer Emily isn’t as concerned about bedtime.  Summer Emily likes to tackle projects of all sizes.  Summer Emily often has dirty hands from the garden.  Summer Emily is more spontaneous.  She laughs a lot.  Summer Emily is often described by Teacher Emily as the best version of her(my?)self.  

When I recently described Summer Emily I paused.  The fact that I am not “the best version” of myself nine months out of the year hurt me.  Why couldn’t I be the same all twelve months?   

This summer my goal is to make Summer Emily the only Emily.  I want to set up habits so that when the school year starts, Summer Emily just continues hanging around.  I’ll talk more about my plans for that soon, but for now: meet Summer Emily.