Saying Goodbye To Summer

How can it be almost over when it seems like it's barely begun?  As the old saying goes: 'All good things must come to an end' and summer is no exception. Our summer calendars had been filled with graduation parties, baseball games, backyard barbecues and pool parties.  These joy filled events are beginning to wind down and soon we'll be filling our September calendars with dates for chaperoning school activities and adhering to the more rigid schedules that fall brings our way.

These dog days of summer are finding me in a bit of a melancholy mood. As the heat continues to be an issue my heart happens to be melting with memories of summer's  sweet song of yesterday.

On a faraway street corner, many , many years ago stood a lemonade stand that held the promise of making lots of money for two enthusiastic best friends. This memory is brought alive as I see today's mommies spending no less than ten bucks on ingredients so their little entrepreneurs can shout ~ ' LEMONADE - 10 CENTS A GLASS!!'

The smell of backyard barbecues always bring to mind the memory of my dad attempting to grill hamburgers. We'd jump for joy even though we knew the hamburgers and hot dogs would be so well past done they'd be well on their way to burnt. Now it is my dear hubby who likes to play weekend chef.  It is his turn to burn the burgers while leaving a happy memory of family time for our kids to recall in years to come.

Many years from now the smell of freshly cut grass will bring the same aroma therapy of youth to our children as it does to us, their aging parents. Back in the summer of our youth every boy's bike had a baseball mitt hanging from the handle bars.  On hot muggy nights moms and dads visited with neighbors on front porches while kids shared in the joy of catching lightening bugs in Mason jars. These were the best of times.  We never worried about things like the ozone. These days little ones almost need the protection of SPF 60 just to play outside.

I remember going to the drive in as a family.  What an adventure!  Looking back, I wonder how my brothers, sister and I all fit in the back of my father's old Edsel, but we did.

These days of summer are definitely different from the days that I remember. But, there are similarities - like the laughter of children enjoying the summers of their childhoods that can spark in our youthful hearts, our own mid summer's memories. Good bye summer till next time, when the beautiful rays of sunshine will once again warm our happy hearts while leading us to the bliss of new beginnings.

~ Kathy Whirity ~

Bio: Kathy Whirity lives in Chicago where she shares her life and love with her husband of 28 years, Bill, their two daughters Jaime and Katie, and two rambunctious retrievers Holly and Hannah. Kathy is a newspaper columnist who writes sentimental musings on family life.

[ By: Kathy Whirity Copyright © 2005 -- submitted by: Kathy Whirity (kathywhirity@yahoo.com) ]