Summer's Swan Song

The last cannonball off the board, the last underwater handstand, the last trip down the waterslide, the last free cup of ice, the last Snickers bar and the last package of Skittles - summer as we knew it was over. We came home and washed the pool towels and the bathing suits so they could be packed away for the (sniff) winter. The pool chair was stored in the cellar with the hopes that the mice won't make a home in that niffty back pocket.

The sunscreen bottles are almost empty. We'll have more sunny, hot days in the next few weeks so we won't throw them away, yet. They still have a useful purpose. The wheeled cart has been cleaned out, folded and stored away. That cart was very helpful this summer. Maggie and Emma took turns pulling it to the pool and back again to the car.

Mornings around here are cool - in the 50s. It takes the sun a long time to rise above the mountain to warm us up. The grass is wet with dew and it's chilly on my sandaled feet when I hang the clothes out to dry. Another month and we'll be taking the air conditioners out of the windows. A month more and we'll be keeping the windows closed all day.

School starts today. I remember when I was in school. I loved the start of school. New pencils, new pack of paper, new spiral notebooks, new shoes, a new outfit for the first day! That feeling lasted about a week and then I was done. I was ready for summer, again.

Maggie and Emma are all excited. They've met their teachers and seen their rooms. They will both go to school with their mother this year. They have new shoes, new notebooks, new pencils, new paper and new outfits for the first day. Maggie's room has a turtle and Emma's room has a hamster.

I hope that "first day" feeling lasts longer than a week for them.