Goodbye summer our old friend

Well this is it. The last day of summer, despite temperatures forecasted to be in the low 90s here in NJ when school reopens this week. The pool closes for the season today but wasn't it only yesterday that I was whining about the water temperature at the pool club being only 56 on Memorial Day weekend? It seems like summer goes faster and faster every year.

Oh there have been signs of summer's coming to close. The days have been getting shorter: no longer is the sun already shining when I get up for work and the late evening walks with my daughter have gotten noticeably earlier. I see a few glints of yellow in some of my trees and a few leaves are now littering my backyard, a warning shot to my back that it has two months to go until .... ugh, I hate even thinking about raking! And, despite this week's forecast, it has been a tad cooler as of late. The other morning I wore sweats in lieu of shorts for the first time since May when I gave the dog his morning walk. And of course, the back to school racks at the stores, seemingly up since 4th of July, have been well picked through.

Though it has been many years since September first meant back to school for me personally, my children do go back this week. Like most of us, summer just means getting up for work in daylight and not having to wear a jacket in the morning, except, perhaps, a few weeks when we go on vacation. Long gone are the endless weeks of being happy and free (though it was nice to come home, grab my suit and hop in the pool after work in July when the pool stayed open until 8PM). For the children though, Thursday will be a rude awakening.

Fortunately for me, I will be long out of the house by time they rise -- Thursday will be my first day back at the office in almost two weeks. It won't be long until we fall back into our usual school year routines ans summer becomes a distant memory as we look forward to various holidays. Already I see a few Halloween shops getting ready to open and mums for sale at the local farms. And in a sure sign that fall is near, a family of wild turkeys just paraded through my yard, reminding me that it will be Thanksgiving before long.

Well, off to the pool and then the store to get burgers for the BBQ tonight.