Summer Shmummer

This is the weekend that my neighbors across the street hold their annual Hogfest blowout. The fact that it's once again time for this day of neighborly debauchery can only mean one thing: it is, in fact, summertime.

Like many people, I have barely noticed the arrival of summer this year. Could be because it doesn't seem to want to stick around for more than two or three hours at a time, and those are usually midday on a Tuesday when I am getting ready to meet with a client in my office with lots of windows that do not open. Could also be because the days of summertime meaning something distinctly different than springtime, fall, or winter are now the property of a new generation - and that generation's teachers, who actually get time off in the summer and thus do not have to be racked with guilt over the measly five day trip to Virginia that they have planned with their children about a week from now. That would be me racked with guilt.

But back to the Hogfest. It is exactly what it sounds like: a giant pig is roasted on a spit while people, young and old, roam around my neighbor's property and bask in its fragrant demise. It sounds disgusting, and it is, but meanwhile there are bouncy houses and inflatable obstacle courses for the kids and a lovely inground swimming pool for whomever wishes to partake, plus beer and music. I have never been to any other pig roasts besides the one these neighbors hold, but I would guess that it is one of the swankier ones as pig roasts go.

The first few years we lived here, Hogfest was kind of fun. As time has worn on, and as my neighborhood has evolved from tight-knit community of friends to the Road of Tension and Infighting, the fun has worn off. So I am grateful that we have another summer outing to attend this afternoon which will take us out of the neighborhood until the evening, at which time we will make a neighborly appearance of an hour or two, tops, at Hogfest. Just enough to secure the friendly banter at the bus stop come September, not so much that I get sucked into any controversy.

Mainly, attending Hogfest (however briefly) might be the thing to convince my brain that summer is here and, in fact, half over already. Maybe I will actually care. Maybe I will start to get excited about our upcoming road trip. It's not like me to not be excited about a road trip. I mean, eleven plus hours of driving, each way, with two tweens in the backseat, and no one to share the driving? What's not to love? I should be jittery with anticipation! And two days of theme parks? Plus a day and a half of taking in the historical lessons of colonial times? With no adult companion to even out the experience for me? This is sounding more and more like a dream trip, isn't it? I don't know why I'm not more excited. Maybe I'm coming down with something.

Anyway, I can start looking forward to next summer already, as I am about to buy my tickets to BlogHer '10 in NYC. Miss S - who is currently at BlogHer '09 - called me in a super-caffeinated state to fill me in on the locale of next year's conference. And while I am no kind of relevant figure in the blogger universe...New York City? For a whole weekend, AND with Miss S? Oh, I am SO THERE.