Farewell Summer....

 Today was the beginning of the ritual of bidding farewell to Summer. I don't want to admit it's nearly over and that on September 22, Fall will be hosting the weather and festivities of the season. I want to hold on to the warmth of the "get-togethers" of those moments when my days were filled with the robust laughter of active children, not yet ready to admit they were...bored!

It is a therapeutic process. This changing of Hosts. Shower curtain liners coming down and reminding me of all the sand washed from heads. Walls are being wiped down, erasing the fascicle smears and streaks of a snack on the go, and missing is the target. Corners and crevices are being vacuumed, disrupting spiders' webs. Furniture is in rotation, a new home to embed carpet is being found, and the occasional M.I.A. toy is being found again.

Summer in her glory is BBQs, which are now being scraped and cleaned as we prepare for heartier meals. She's sunsets in the chair on the porch that was just scrubbed down and disinfected as I think about the beauty of the leaves just yonder preparing to color my world with rich, earthy hues.

Tank tops and shorts are laundered and folded, tucked neatly inside the "Summer" Bin, while sweatshirts and muted-colored long-sleeved shirts surface and jiggle in my washer, preparing to take up residence in a chest of drawers.

It's been a good 100 or so days. We lived it up...I remember it fondly as I scour camping pots and pans, hang sleeping bags to dry, and hose out a tent we called "Home" for a week in the mountains, relishing in the sanctuary of silence.

While I'm sad to bid farewell to my Old Friend, Summer, I am eager to welcome Fall. A time when the world is crisp. The morning a tad nippy allowing me to snuggle in the covers a tad longer while I work up my courage to confront the nip. The ground was littered with crunchy leaves, and the world around me canvassed in brown, gold, crimson, and orange.

Fall is welcoming the night before you're ready to go to sleep. It's apples and festivals. Scarecrows and costumes.

There is nothing I look forward to more than finding the perfect costume and accessories for my children's Halloween. Nothing more magical than the Witch Festival and picking our perfect pumpkins from the patch.

As I put the final touches on moving Summer into my past and opening the windows and doors to greet Fall, I cherish all that she gave me. The memories that will live on in my heart are captured in pictures.

Farewell, Old Friend, Summer. You've been a great host.

Welcome, Fall...it's always glorious to see you again.....