Back to School. Or, the Summer That Was Beer.

It was the first day of school here in Oregon yesterday.  I have no children in school, and I haven't been in school myself in a very. long. time.  Our grandson did just start his first day of pre-school in Alabama, though (where did that time go?!?), so we got a little taste of the old excitement.  Big changes in his world this week!

 Backpack:  check!  Lunch:  check!

Is it just me, or does something about back-to-school time give you a swift kick in the backside and make you look at where you are and what you want to accomplish?   It always feels like the end of summer--even though technically there are a couple of weeks left.  And the transition to fall always feels like change is in the air; as though big things are about to happen.

I'm not talking about the weather here; we all know that's going to change, and a lot quicker than I'm ready for!  No, I'm talking about big, life-changing stuff.  Stuff like the fact that four of the five jobs I've had started in the fall...we got married in the fall...we've moved in the fall.  Stuff that you really need to have your act together for.

And then there's the stuff that's not so life-changing.  It's just more shape-shifting.

Even though we've been on the go quite a bit, our summer while at home has been fairly laid-back.  Something about living in a resort town can make you feel like you're on perpetual vacation, I guess.  When that resort town has seven micro-breweries, it just makes things worse (or better, depending on your point of view).  You feel like you should taste them all.

What?  You didn't feel that way?  Oh.

These past two months, my exercise, diet, and discipline have suffered, and I'm chalking it all up to beer and summer.  It was too easy to play without worrying about it being a school night.   Slingball in the neighbor's back yard with some Boneyard Girl Beer?  You betcha...Dominoes and dice until way past midnight with a little Cascade Lakes Blonde Bombshell?  Great idea!...Bend Elks games with some Deschutes Mirror Pond?  Of course!  Have to grab those games while they're in town, right?  And what's baseball without beer?...A trip to East Lake with some 10 Barrel Apocalypse IPA?  Of course!  Sign me up!...The Bend Brewfest? Can't miss that now that it's back, can we?!

Do you see what I mean?!?

Well hello, four pounds.  Thanks for visiting, but I really can't invite you to make yourself at home.  So, don't get comfortable.

It's time to get my act together.  Back to the school of exercise, diet and discipline.  Then we'll get on to the big life-changing stuff.