Land that Time Forgot

I have this issue with summer, and really any period of my life that lacks a regular schedule, with solid deadlines or regular meetings. I lose all sense of time; I roughly keep track of days because suddenly my parents are around and want to engage in "chores" or I realize a beloved television show is on. However, I lose all sense of how close certain events may be. Like now; it's June 2, I have less than two weeks before another extended jaunt abroad, and my sense of the reality of the situation? Not happening. I've been cleaning the rooms I inhabit for days, adding new organizational structures, and vaguely remember to put items in a box for "Ireland", knowing they may become useful. I get periodic e-mails reminding me of my classes, or the need to register, and I know I need to act on them, but I have books to put on shelves and those floors won't clear themselves.

And so my giddy sense of anticipation has been completely subverted by the lazy days of summer that grip me. The sun shines, summer storms flare up, and the tadpoles threaten the lives of the goldfish. Friends reappear from colleges, and I somehow manage to ignore the call of a summer job, knowing that I can't maintain employment when I'm leaving...eventually.

I recall two years ago, in the run up to Switzerland I spent my days thrilled, soon, soon I would be on my way, gone for a whole semester. I packed, and repacked; new luggage was purchased, textbooks sought and found, and a little bit ignored because it was winter break and even I can't sustain that level of excitement longer than a few days without regular reminders like Italian class, or a roommate going with me. This time, I have no prep classes, I have some distance from my fellow travelers and no contacts abroad to remind me of the glories of the future. So instead, I clean, I assemble, I wonder why I'm so concerned about cute summer clothes when the average temperature in Galway in July is 65 F.

And then I think, it's too hot to work, I'd rather see a movie.