With Labor Day just around the corner, can the end of Summer be far? Although the calendar reminds us that the season doesn’t officially change until September 21, the kids are already back in school, and Halloween costumes, decorations, and candies have flooded Costco and other big-box stores. I expect the first Christmas jingles to launch any day on my radio. I’m gearing up for the nail-biting excitement of a close race to the pennant. And, blissfully, soon the National Football League is back in earnest.
As for Lola and me, we’re gearing up for what has become our annual junket to visit Craig and Donna in the far North Country. Lola doesn’t know it yet, but the time is fast approaching when she will get to jump into the cool lake waters that surround their cabin until her heart is content, and to deeply inhale the pines and evergreens growing adjacent to the soft, dirt trail we’ll use for our walks, while listening to the frantic, loud buzzing of the bees, who seem to sense this season’s end is near.
There will be time enough for business at the back end. I’ve recently heard from the tutoring program, which, sadly, after three years, plans to split Zoey and me up for the upcoming tutoring year. Of course, I would much prefer to complete my journey with Zoey, who will graduate from grammar school next June.
Meanwhile, I am taking my leave from this post for the next couple of weeks to shut down and relax, to visit with my old friends once more, and idle away the time on their pier, happy simply to gaze at the sun’s reflection on the gentle waters. I’m almost done packing my bags.
