Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
Russel Baker
Next week children in Colorado Springs are going back to school…how is that possible that summer is over that soon?
It was always back to school after Labor Day for us…although by August we could see the signs that the summer was ending. Jellyfish invaded the beaches every August so there were many days we couldn’t swim. We walked the beach every morning marveling at the shapes, colors and sizes of the jellyfish and if we were brave enough to swim we always got stung. We spent most August afternoons slathered with a baking soda and salt water mix a common remedy for the stinging nettle jellyfish of Long Island Sound. And spent most nights slathered in pink Calamine lotion for when you started itching.
In August there were less lazy days at the beach and more “it’s time to go shopping for school shoes/school clothes/school supplies.”
Towards the last week of August you started feeling fear mixed with
anticipation/excitement. Anticipation and excitement to see your friends
and teachers again and a little bit of fear of the unknown. How hard
would the next year be? What new experiences would come into your life?
And then there was the Labor Day picnic…the last grand picnic of summer. We’d eat barbequed chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob, watermelon, baked beans, cucumber salad and the last of the tomatoes, marinated in Italian dressing. We’d drink iced tea with pineapple juice and fresh mint from the garden and roast marshmallows one last time. Today, write about your memories of the end of the summer…what do you miss about past summers? what new summer traditions do you share with you family? Now get back to work!
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag