The End of Summer

No, school doesn’t start on Monday, but it is the end of summer all the same. The end of summer jobs for my two oldest, the beginning of football two-a-days for the two youngest. (That one in the middle overlaps into both groups!) It is also the date I’d set in my mind for the end of research on the new book. I have some good stuff, but now I have to figure out the actual story and see what specific research I need to fill some holes. So come Monday, we will all buckle down and get to work. Even the daughter who doesn’t leave for school quite yet must finish sorting her room into taking-to-college and storing-in-garage so her brother can move in when she leaves.

When I wake up Monday morning, my whole thinking will have shifted. And that’s a good thing. While I’ve learned to enjoy the go-with-the-flow of summer days, I’m ready to get productive again.

So what signifies the end of summer for you? A date? An event? A holiday? Do you end summer reluctantly or with a warm embrace of farewell? 

Revisiting High School

Yes, I’m one of those weirdoes who look back with fondness on my high school experience. Not that it was perfect. Far from it. But somehow I understood even then that those years would in many ways be the most carefree of my life. Because of this, I’ve always enjoyed my high school reunions, too.

Five years ago I had to forego the get-together. My husband had been invited to a legal seminar in London over the same weekend and, well, you don’t turn down London! I remember thinking at the time how much I’d have to catch up on at the 25^th reunion. Never in a million years did I imagine Facebook!

In the past two years I’ve reconnected with so many of my classmates, seen pictures of their kids, heard what is happening in their lives, that our reunion this weekend will truly be meeting up with old friends instead of an attempt to reignite long-dormant relationships. Of course there will be others there, too—ones I haven’t kept up with through social media. Ones I will be surprised to see again after all these years. But it’s not so overwhelming when I already feel “caught up” with so many.

Now into our 40s, many of us have children graduated from high school, or getting close. Some are even grandparents! Our lives have all taken different paths and yet still we have a past shared experience that bridges the gaps. And remembering who we were then in light of we are now makes me thankful for all that God has done through the years. And I think it gives us all hope for our kids and their friends, too!

I’m looking forward to every minute!