I have come to look forward to the month of July. The typically relaxing summer month hosts exciting local events like Independence Day celebrations, the GPS festa and the Stanislaus County Fair.

School is out, the cities have started a new fiscal year and people are just out and about enjoying the season at pools and parks, walking, riding bikes and enjoying time with family and friends. If it weren’t for the extreme heat which normally hits in July, I think it would be the perfect summer month! 

One of my favorite July activities is the fair, something I have come to appreciate more each year since I began working at the paper.

There is a buzz on the high school campuses now, an anticipation of the final days heading towards graduation. You can feel the energy of it. The excitement of what’s ahead, the nostalgia of days gone by, the energy of looking forward to new paths yet to be explored. It’s the time of year that is filled with emotions for young men and women as the years of their K-12 education come to a close and they face one of life’s first crossroads. Some will enter the job market straight from high school, others will serve our country in the armed forces, many will further their education and attend a variety of colleges or programs. No matter the path they choose, their life is about to change and it is both exciting and a bit frightening.

What’s up with this weather? Maybe it’s time for us to adjust our calendar. We’ve seen more “winter weather” in the months of February, March and April than we did during the winter months as a whole. Sure there were the endless weeks of fog that enveloped our West Side in the usual gray dreariness of that time of year but the rain, wind and cold temperatures seem to have waited until a bit later this year. I guess Mr. Groundhog was correct in his predictions for six more weeks of winter! Wow!

Moments with the grandkids are precious and appreciated, especially when they seem to be growing and changing so quickly these days. This past weekend our two little ones, Niko and Abby, demonstrated they are not little infants anymore.

You know the commercials where the babies talk to each other? Well, that’s what my two grandchildren appeared to be doing during a family dinner out Saturday night. It was the cutest thing! Granted they were speaking in their own language but still there they were, sitting next to one another in their highchairs at the end of the table, having their own conversation. It was so adorable! We could only imagine what they were talking about.