Lilly

Last week the days were just flying by; now they’re in free fall.

Club soccer starts next week. That’s a program that lets girls in my district play in the fall and winter, before the official season starts in the spring. I’ve ordered my uniforms and found the perfect pair of cleats (highlighter yellow, and the most lightweight I’ve ever worn). I’ll be hurrying to break them in before our first tournament, which could come as soon as the end of this month. I’m pretty nervous: Club teams are harder to get onto than high school teams, since girls from all over the district try out for them, so the level of competition is much higher. But a couple of other girls from my school will be on my team, so at least I’ll know someone there.

School starts a week after that. I’m crossing my fingers that I haven’t taken on more than I can handle. I was given the option to skip pre-calculus and go straight into actual calculus, and I took it; I’ve also added two elective science classes to my workload. But those are all classes I’m excited for—some that I’ve wanted to take for years, but had to wait till I’d completed a bunch of prerequisites.

I’m spending the last few weeks of summer kind of coasting, focusing on simple pleasures in the moment and trying not to think about the road ahead. Early Friday morning, I ran to the park near our old house and sat on top of the climbing wall for a while, silently reliving childhood memories. I baked misshapen cookies and the best scones I’ve ever tasted. I went to see a local band play an outdoor show, and laughed as the crowd danced on the concrete under the smoke and sky. Not much has really happened lately, which is exactly what I wanted.

One more week. I’m hoping it’s just as relaxing. ♦