That's what a neighbor said to me this weekend, and she's right. This summer has been unusual, for sure. I was selected for grand jury service, which in DC lasts 5 long weeks. No days off, 9:00 to 5:00, Monday thru Friday. An hour for lunch, and 2 15-minute breaks. Sounds like a fun way to spend the hottest month of the year, right?
I spent 5 weeks in this building. I started to feel like a prisoner after a while. On the plus side, I feel like I got a course in law and criminology. I learned about things I've only seen on TV... the cycle of violence is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around.
One of the most challenging aspects of jury duty, was to spend all day in a room with 22 strangers. Some of them were VERY strange, indeed. I spent some of my down-time sketching in these accordion books.
Here are my sketches. The books were passed around the room many times -- it seems people found it amusing that I passed the time with something besides crossword puzzles and soduko.
When I got bored with drawing, I crocheted granny squares. Yes, I'm sure my fellow jurors found me odd.
On the weekends I tried my best to keep up with my usual August canning schedule, but I was just too tired most of the time, and I've only canned about half of what I did last year.
We took 3 trips to Rehoboth Beach in August. I needed the mental break. I like to think the waves washed all the horror stories out of my head.
Besides, there's nothing a gorgeous day at the beach, Thrasher fries and Grotto pizza can't fix.
I have to go back for 2 recall days in September. Hopefully I'll start feeling normal again soon.
