Summer in the City

So here we are, the middle of summer. Our first in the City. Our new friends are dropping like flies--I didn't realize that so many people routinely "leave the City for the summer". It is not a very common West Coast thing, but we have met lots of people who have plans to be upstate, downstate (kidding, is there really a downstate?), in Canada, at the beach. Just somewhere else besides here. Is it the weather? Is it their guilty conscience trying to scrap together city-free time for their kids so they don't grow up to believe that the epicenter of the planet is New York? Is it all that disposable income, burning a hole in their pockets? Not sure. But anyways, here we are, spending our summer in the same place we will spend our Fall. It has been quite pleasant, really. Just when you think you are going to suffocate from the humidity, a thunderstorm builds up and aggressively clears the air. Because of our proximity to the park we still have lots of exposure to the pool, fountains and green things, along with some shade. Our electricity bill more than doubled once we started using air conditioning regularly, but we tend to leave the windows open at night with the overhead fan on and except for maybe two nights so far, it is pretty comfortable.
The kids have been taking track and tennis twice a week for 3 weeks now and that has turned into nearly an all-day affair. We meet at the track and for an hour they do their class. Then they play with a big pack of kids on the nearby playground, then we take a bus to the tennis center, stopping for sandwiches on the way. Then tennis, with many of the same kids. Then after tennis, they have created these fort-type areas in some large old trees with exposed roots near the tennis courts. They dig, build things with sticks, pick leaves for decorations...it is a great place for them to play. We make it home (barely) in time for dinner and the kids are wiped out from a long day of high activity. The group of kids is diverse and sweet--they play together really well and it is lots of fun to see them at both classes. Maya has a new friend, who shares the same name and is also 7. Except for the fact that she lives on the East side (not that far away, but time consuming to get to by public transportation) and is going to Ireland for 2 weeks, Maya has plans to spend lots of time with her before she goes back to school. With our homeschool group on Wednesdays at Columbia, we really only have Monday and Friday that are free, and even those days get filled up quickly.
This weekend we are "leaving The City" (doesn't that sound so dramatic? That is what everyone here says instead of "going out of town") to go to the Folk Festival in Upstate NY. Unfortunately there is significant rain predicted, and we will be camping. Sigh. But the kids are excited to camp, I can't wait to see Dar Williams and Brett is looking forward to his first official day of vacation in a very long time. We just met our dog walker tonight, so hopefully Banchi is in good hands. The guy was really nice, and is a crazy animal lover. He also might buy our couches (which are still standing on end in a corner waiting for a reply to our craig's list ad).
We had our first official noise warning last week--the neighbors below us came up to ask us to "stop jumping--it is making the lights flicker and we are having visitors for dinner". The scary thing is that we weren't doing any jumping, and can only assume that if Jonah's regular walk sounds like an elephant stomping, it must be nothing compared to what it sounds like below us. Sigh again.
Brett finished his last day of field work today on his NJ project. So he will be in the office again for the next month or so before possibly having an out of town trip. I think it he is happy to surrender the car. It can be nice to have a car here, but like I have described, it really takes a lot of extra effort and money. I taught a Birthing From Within Class last weekend--an immersion (so not 6 weeks like usual, but condensed into 2 days) and also a private class (so just 1 couple). It was energizing and fun to focus my energies on one of my favorite topics.
OK, that is all for now. I will probably post again after our weekend of camping. Happy end of July everyone!