Well,
Summer is officially over and for the first time in years I’m sad to see it go. Summer used to be my favorite time of year. But with MS being exasperated by heat and having toddlers who couldn’t be occupied with “activities” or trusted to listen at the pool, I have looked at summer as a thin sliver of hell.
But this year, things were different. Beth and Jake were old enough to follow directions, learn to swim, and experience the awe inspiring long summer days filled with nothing but sun and exploration of their environment.
And it felt like that for me again. Sitting at the pool (Okay, I rarely sat) watching them enjoy the water, playing imaginative games, and tuckering themselves out, took me back to when I was a kid. That summer sensation was back–it had been lurking inside my skin since childhood ended.
Because Bill travels a ton and is always gone at dinner time, we would have dinner at the pool, heading home with just enough time to read books and snuggle the kids off to dreamland. These were good days.
Not that the pool didn’t introduce a plethora of political parenting issues, but what’s life without people to ruffle your feathers? Nothing like ten different parenting styles clashing in two feet of water. All in all, knowing there was a place for the kids to run and eat and swim, and for me to have mothers around going through the same things as me, made for the best summer I’ve had in a long, long time.
Yay! I’m glad you had a great summer. Out here in Arizona where it’s always summer, I find myself longing for a nice rainy or cold day! Plus I really miss the fall, and putting on a turtleneck and a sweater and going to a football game. There is that wonderful scent of leaves that you just don’t get in the desert!
What’s is with you Pitt people always ushering summer away at the start of football season. Summer ends in Oct.! With that said…hey Beth! I agree, fall brings that awesome change of clothing…monochromatic shades, sweater turtlenecks (reminds me of Love Story). You know the East is always here for ya! Summer is in the mind. I can find a warm spot, good magazine (T&C), sweet tea and a comfy pillow to wisk me into happiness. If that doesn’t work…I turn up the heat and sweat!