Goodbyes

Goodbyes.

The days are still blessedly warm—some would say way too hot. But now in the early mornings the light arrives a little later and the air has taken on the dawn coolness that returns each August to remind us that the warm season is on the downhill run. I love summer, and it always makes me sad when I realize that it won’t go on forever.

Summer visits come to an end as well.  My grandson, Cougar, who lives in Tokyo, spent the month of July in the U.S. He went home this week and so did his dad, after a visit of nearly a whole week. It was hard to see them go. I know, these days, theoretically, they’re not much more than 12 hours away, but still, it feels like a long way.  Life is busy and visits are necessarily rare, making them treasured times.

There’s this myth that summer is time off time—less to do—more time to hang out, read, swim, do nothing.  I’m not convinced. The days are longer but they tend to get filled up with attention the garden demands—or I, at least, think it does.

In a week or so, school will crank up again and the grandkid generation in my family will scatter—to New York, Florida, Ohio, California, Spain, to work and to school. But not Adam, my mid-twenties grandson and Allison, his significant other, who are fulfilling a long-held dream of backpacking through the European continent for six months. For several years they worked hard and saved their money, then quit their jobs to make this trip of a lifetime. According to Instagram, they’re having a high old time. They promise to be home by Christmas. Even the best and longest of adventures come to an end. The important thing is to grab the window of opportunity when it emerges because it won’t be open forever.

I plan to make the the best of what remains of summer and keep in mind that fall is on the horizon with a whole new set of good fun things to do.  Already, the grass has quit growing so fast and the garden is offering up edibles unlike anything you can find at the supermarket.