Au Revoir, Summer

A cold front is blasting it's way into Texas today. It's something we all look forward to, having endured triple-digit heat for more days than we care to remember. And when the highs dip down into the 80's, we rejoice... for a time. Until those 80 temperatures get a little old. It is October, we say, shaking our heads. We need some cooler weather already!

And when it arrives, with wind and thunder and cold rain, we break out the sweaters and long sleeve shirts, the sweats and jeans, and we feel renewed and invigorated.

Last night, in the damp heat on the eve of this cold front, I lay drowsily on my daughter's bed, reading her a bedtime story. The story long finished, the fans whirred around me, and I closed my eyes. Suddenly I was whisked back in time to the humid NY summers of long ago.

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I was born on Long Island. The winters there are bitterly cold and the summer heat is thick and oppressive. We would flock to the beaches and spend entire days near the shore, basking in the sun and the wind, sand burning our feet, swimming against the salty ocean waves.

At night, we would lay in bed, the fans on high, shaking the bedroom floors, as the sweet night air wafted in through the open windows. You could almost feel the humidity give way to the dewy night air, as you lay without blankets or sheets, your sunburned face turned toward the cool breeze.

I remember in particular how hot it would be in the upstairs of my grandparent's house in Levittown. Even though we lived close by, we would still sometimes spend the night after a family get together with my many aunts and uncles and cousins. I would lay on the bedsheets, listening to the laughter and ribbing of my relatives, while the noisy floor fan ushered in the cooler night air. I fell asleep to the sweet smell of summer and the secure feeling of being surrounded by a loving family.

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Knowing that this cold front was slowly making it's way south today, I lay still yesterday evening reflecting on these memories, basking in the warmth of the southerly wind and the smell of the sweet summer flowers.

BTW... I love laying on any one of my children's beds and looking at life from their perspective. This is what they will remember, I think. This is their childhood. How different it is from mine. Yet, how very much the same. And what a responsibility I have as a parent, the key role in the formation of these memories they will carry for the rest of their lives.

Good-bye summer. It's been a good one. Filled with many memories, and through it all, the shaping of 5 little childhoods. With many opportunities for love and laughter, learning and growing, and much joy above all.

May our Fall and Winter be just as warm and memorable, with the love of family and friends. And much much joy above all.

:)