Months have slipped by since I’ve sat at my desk for any length of time.  During the summer it’s something just short of a miracle if I spend more than 20 minutes a day there.  This summer was even more exceptional in that regard.  Because my summer ended with hospitalization, surgery, and recovery, I’ve spent even less time there than I would normally.

When I returned to the office last week it was hard to get back into the swing of things.  Summer was over.  The interns scattered from one end of the world to the other finishing their studies or getting ready for their next adventures.  I missed them.  I missed the luxury of sitting on a soft couch while my laptop earned its name.

I’ve kind of gotten back into the office swing of things this week, but I’ve noticed there are bits and pieces of my summer all over the place.  Walking to the bookshelves is as challenging as a maze.  My Ikea grocery bag is the lone occupant of the intern cube.  And then there’s my desk.  It’s covered in summer–summer and a few other things.

My very organized and helpful interns tried to create order from the disarray of my desk.  I think it will be helpful when I have some time to actually deal with it.  In the meantime, I look around and I see all sorts of things that bring back lots of good memories.

As I scan my desk, I see my print with all the Yay Ducks that sits on top of the notebook containing our ideas about Joseph as a TCK.  There’s my Starbucks travel mug that was absolutely disgusting; some brave soul cleaned it out and now it’s my go-to for the morning coffee.  There’s a post-it note proclaiming, “Kiss Me I’m Asian.”  Canvas covered boards with portraits and words describing three cultures sit on top of the catalog for our tie-dyed T-shirts.  Printouts of questions for the preschoolers  and younger elementary aged kids to tell about their weeks come dangerously close to being mixed in with liability waivers from the bouncey castle place.

My desk is not tidy.  One day it may look different, but for the moment it’s filled with the flotsam and jetsam of a well lived summer.  As much as I crave orderliness, I kind of like all the ephemera that kindles memories of  frenetically good days.

What’s on your desk?