Saying Goodbye to Summer’s R&R, Welcoming Back the Routine

The sunny skies and mild temperatures we’re experiencing this week are similar to the weather in late July when I last blogged.  But now trees are flecked with crimson and gold, and a hint of melancholy is in the air – September is here, and summer is quickly slipping away.

It seemed to be on everyone’s mind at Ginny Duenkel Pool a couple days ago.  After a few days of emergency closures due to the hurricane, a lot of members had come to sunbathe, swim and socialize.  Following concerned inquiries about possible damage from the storm, conversations invariably turned to everyone’s regret at the impending end of the pool season and imminent return to the daily routine of the fall.

On a walk earlier in the day, I ran into a school parent whom I’d hardly seen all summer.  “I’ll see you next week,” I said at the end of our brief conversation.  “That’s right, school starts in a week,” he replied.  “I can’t believe it. The summer went by so fast.  Where did the time go?”

My mother used to say, “Time moves much faster as you get older.”  But even my kids have complained that this summer has gone by much too quickly.  So I guess it’s not necessarily due to my advancing age.  Perhaps it’s because, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” though the restful and memorable days with family (especially excursions to the beach, town pool and whale-watching in Boston) seemed to have been just as frequent as the hours spent driving the kids to summer jobs, travel baseball and get-togethers with friends.

For the last week or so, my teenage daughter has begun groaning about resuming her school routine, getting up before 6 a.m. to catch the 6:49 a.m. train from Mountain to Convent Station.  I’ve laughed and said to her, “Beth, I feel your pain.  Who do you think has to get up and get you to Mountain Station at the crack of dawn?’ 

With three kids in three different schools in Grades 12, 11 and 6, I have my work cut out for me, come this time of year.  I’ve tried to minimize the blow of filling three separate supply lists the first week of school by taking a stab at estimating the number of spiral notebooks, folders, binders, pencils and pens based on years past, and picking up quantities at Shop Rite and Target during mid-summer sales.  (Why can’t all supply lists be given out in June?  And how come no store ever has enough of those folders my kids like come the second week in September?)  Despite the fact that I have about 15 folders, 20 notebooks and assorted other supplies, I’m sure they’ll need additional things, and I’m steeling myself to brave the crowds of similarly beset parents storming Staples starting next week.

Then there’s outfitting the group.  With two in uniforms, I have to do a lot of nagging about now to get them to try on what remains in their closets in order to determine what parts of the summer, winter and gym uniforms need replacing.  With sixth-grader Paul, the switch from “lower school” navy shorts and slacks to “middle school” khakis required searching through bags in the attic for older-brother hand-me-downs.  Thank goodness, this year we only need to purchase socks!

Nagging has also reaches a crescendo in terms of the required summer reading.  Not for my daughter, of course.  But variations on the question, “How many more pages do you need to read in your books?” to Paul have become more frequent and shrill as the days get crossed off the calendar.

I could go on, but that’s enough venting.  The change of seasons is inevitable, and no one yet has figured out a way to stop time.  So I guess the best thing to do right now is to get up from the computer in my dark basement and get out there to enjoy what’s left of summer.  I hope you’ll do the same.