Thursday
8/24/04
The End Of A Season
I would be hard pressed indeed, as would most anyone I presume, to think of any time of year that is as bittersweet as are the closing days of summer. The days are getting shorter, the sun is setting noticeably farther south, and the night air brings a chill not felt since spring. The heady days of rough and tumble fun at the beach are now behind us as is the heady excitement of first kisses shared as a campfire somewhere slowly burns down.
Good Lord, what a load of nonsense. I’m way to old for all that. Bottom line: the lads are going back to school, and despite my mildly conflicted feelings about the freedom that summer brings, I know it’s best for everybody to be done with it. Sure, it’ll be tough to get back into the grind of our over-scheduled lives, but at this point the lads and I have had about as much fun as we can stand.
The boys have played through every video game we have, and I’ve gotten tired of being beaten by Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia. We’ve read books, done puzzles and watched more Godzilla movies than I would have ever guessed existed. ( Twenty-six apparently, not including Godzilla Meets Bambi and the unwatchable Matthew Broderick Godzilla of 1998.) There have been trips to kid museums, science museums and aquariums. We’ve done day trips here and weekend trips there. We’ve played tennis. We’ve played soccer/football/Frisbee in the back yard. We’ve played basketball in the driveway. We’ve been pruned up in the town pool more times than I care to remember. I am now, simply put, pooped.
So it was with a renewed spring in my step that I took the lads to Target yesterday and collected a shopping cart full of pencils, markers, notebooks and all the related educational tools that will, apparently, make them smarter. The boys actually took it all rather well, including the news that the second and fourth grades, respectively, are upon them. And, my guess is that they’ll continue taking the end of summer well… at least until they find out about girls and smooching by a dying campfire.
|
The End Of A Season
I would be hard pressed indeed, as would most anyone I presume, to think of any time of year that is as bittersweet as are the closing days of summer. The days are getting shorter, the sun is setting noticeably farther south, and the night air brings a chill not felt since spring. The heady days of rough and tumble fun at the beach are now behind us as is the heady excitement of first kisses shared as a campfire somewhere slowly burns down.
Good Lord, what a load of nonsense. I’m way to old for all that. Bottom line: the lads are going back to school, and despite my mildly conflicted feelings about the freedom that summer brings, I know it’s best for everybody to be done with it. Sure, it’ll be tough to get back into the grind of our over-scheduled lives, but at this point the lads and I have had about as much fun as we can stand.
The boys have played through every video game we have, and I’ve gotten tired of being beaten by Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia. We’ve read books, done puzzles and watched more Godzilla movies than I would have ever guessed existed. ( Twenty-six apparently, not including Godzilla Meets Bambi and the unwatchable Matthew Broderick Godzilla of 1998.) There have been trips to kid museums, science museums and aquariums. We’ve done day trips here and weekend trips there. We’ve played tennis. We’ve played soccer/football/Frisbee in the back yard. We’ve played basketball in the driveway. We’ve been pruned up in the town pool more times than I care to remember. I am now, simply put, pooped.
So it was with a renewed spring in my step that I took the lads to Target yesterday and collected a shopping cart full of pencils, markers, notebooks and all the related educational tools that will, apparently, make them smarter. The boys actually took it all rather well, including the news that the second and fourth grades, respectively, are upon them. And, my guess is that they’ll continue taking the end of summer well… at least until they find out about girls and smooching by a dying campfire.
