SUMMER SESSION #26- IS IT OVER?

 Here we are in the final few days of "summer".  We tend to assign the months of June, July & August as our "summer months".  BUT is it over?

School has begun, football season is upon us, we are back to our "normal routines", but is summer really over?  The temperature gauge would argue the fact that summer is behind us.

In a previous post I reminisced of feeling streams of sweat rolling down my back in those wooden desks of my early school years.  IT WAS HOT!  The grip of the Gulf humidity and heat from the nearness of the equator keeps a firm hold on Louisiana until almost the official beginning of winter.  It is so hot here that when we finally have the occasional dip into the upper 50's- 60's in the early mornings, jackets are pulled from the back of the closet.  We leave for our day all wrapped up and strip it all off before mid morning.  By the end of the day, jackets are left in the black hole of lost clothing not to be thought about again until the next cool morning.

Obviously the temperature has nothing to do with the start of fall here.  The beginning of school, the Friday night lights and referee whistles, fall sport's leagues, and the anticipation of the fall holiday season brings the closing of summer.  No more free days to splash around in the swimming pool, no more matinees in the dark cool of the movie theater tunnel, no more long nights of play with no need for early bedtimes.  Summer ends with the beginning of school and the more rigid schedule it entails.

For those of us who are no longer affected by school schedules, the majority rules and we fall in line with the schedules of the masses.  We hear the school bus pass and know to avoid certain streets with the chaos of car lines.  We don't dare drop by the Sonic for an afternoon treat after 3:00 PM knowing the long lines we would encounter.  The majority of our daily errands and schedule happens between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM to avoid the crowds which come  before and after those marks in time.  Heaves to Betsy DO NOT go to the grocery store or Wal Mart if at all possible before or after school.

We soon find ourselves adapting to our "new normal".  The routine we follow for the majority of the year is back to stay for nine months.  Personally, I find these summer ending coming faster and faster.  Except for the memory of the monster heat, it is almost as if it didn't happen.  There has to be a scientific principle concerning time passing faster as we get older.  

I am thankful for another summer---no matter what the weather.  Thankful for the long days watching the children play away their days and a little more relaxed season even for those who are 12 month bound.  Good Bye Summer!

How many more days until Fall Break and Halloween?

"While the earth remains,

 seedtime and harvest,

 cold and heat,

 summer and winter,

 day and night,

 shall not cease.”

Genesis 8:22