Tuesday, September 2, 2008

~Labor Day is Past~

Is it really, really over? Has summer truly left us and gone where all past summers go? I am just not ready to give it up. I think summer is by far my favorite season. Though I will admit to being one of those who love the change of seasons, I do grieve the loss of my summers.

I remember the summers of my youth. Those lazy, hazy, crazy days. I remember waking late and just lying in my bed contemplating the long languid day ahead. It seems as if the sun always shone in those days. Those were the days before air conditioning and I can remember the heat of the early morning with the sun streaming through my bedroom window. I had the only upstairs bedroom in our house and felt that I was hidden away from the rest of the world.

I'd spend hours and hours lying on my bed reading in the summer. Admittedly, these wonderful times were interspersed with chores. My mom, who worked outside our home, always left a list of things that needed to be accomplished each day. Looking back, I wonder if I tackled those chores as unhappily as my daughters did. My guess would be, yes. I didn't want anything to interfere with those idyllic summer days.

In the evenings we would all gather together in the yard of a little neighborhood manufacturing plant and play hide 'n seek. We'd stay out there as long as we could playing until we would eventually hear the calls. "Bob, Nancy, Pam time for bed." "Bonnie, Linda, Bobbie, come home now." And then, reluctantly, we would bid our friends good-night and drag ourselves home.

I didn't intend to write about that when I sat down at the computer this evening. I was going to post that Jim and I are going to take a little trip down memory lane tomorrow. We're going to drive through the town where Jim went to college and have lunch and walk the campus. This stop will be on our way to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. We have both driven by this spot many times and have talked about going there. Just last year, we added it to our "Bucket List". We plan to spend the night in a B&B near there and hike on Thursday.

After this little adventure, we plan to go on to Jim's brother's house and spend a couple of days visiting with Jim's mom and other relatives. I'm looking forward to lunch with my favorite cousin and my aunt on Friday.

When we come back home I plan to get some mums for my planters, go to the farmer's market and buy some tomatoes and peppers to "put by" for winter. I will accept the fact that summer is waning and fall is just around the corner. In the meantime, I'll just be a little sad to see summer go.

I'll leave you with a picture of one of our most beautiful summer sunsets.

8 comments:

camport said...

beautiful shot! Love the colors! I must say, I am a bigger fan of Fall than Summer, but down south, we don't get much of a Fall.

Last Fall, we were in Seattle and it was just the best thing ever! I miss that place.

Enjoy your trip down memory lane!

:)

Cheryl Wray said...

Those are some great memories. I also spent a lot of my childhood reading!

The Summer has gone by way too fast. I always miss it so much, but Fall is nice too! Lots to look forward to and enjoy.

Faye said...

I feel exactly how you do about summer turning to fall. I grieve it's passing every year. But I love the colorful, crispness of Fall too...after all, we got married in October on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, almost 32 years ago.

Dawn said...

I miss NY when Labor Day indeed meant the end of summer. Down here in NC my son has been in school since the end of July, and our daughter started on the 25th of August.
It is so nice to hear about your bucket list. I know there are things my parents would like to do but are not necessarily able to do them at this point.
Also, on a side note, do you still attend the 2nd Reformed Church in town? If so can you add my mom to the prayer list. She has been in and out of the hospital over the past few weeks with some pretty serious kidney issues. I think Sharon Vallier and/or Judy Young may be aware of what has been going on.

Diane said...

Hi Pam! I'm catching up with my bloggin buddy news...slowly, but it's a start.

The trip sounds fun...a trip down memory lane. I love forward to the pictures! The sunset was incredible. Fall is MY favorite time of year.

Hugs,
Diane

Nancy said...

If you lived in the South in this horrendous heat, you wouldn't mind Summer passing, trust me! I love Spring the best....everything is coming back to life and the air smells so fresh and clean.

Your trip down "Memory Lane" sounds like fun! I am so far behind in reading blogs and catching up that you've probably already been there and abck by now! LOL

Had I known you were lying there reading the summer away, I would have come and got you! Those 3 miles were like a hundred, or so it seemed back then. In summer, we all just stayed in Costello and played together....yep, we played hide-n-seek, too! LOL You brought some old summer memories back to me, too!

The sunset pic was absolutely beautiful!!!

(((((( HUGS ))))))

Renie Burghardt said...

Summer is just so extremely hot in the Ozarks that I am glad to see it go. I love Fall, the pleasant, cooler weather, and the beautiful colors. But I don't love what follows Fall! lol.

I enjoyed your summer reminiscing. Your sunset picture is gorgeous!

Hugs,

Renie

Monogram Queen said...

I love thinking about the summers of my youth in PA, sitting in the backyard, yoo-hooing to the neighbors, biking it for fresh corn from Tebbs' farmstand, playing miniature golf and eating ice cream.... my life is so rich in memories!