The Final Days of Summer

The final days of summer have gone like sifting sands. We spent this last week enjoying end of summer celebrations, squeezing in a few more playdates, and soaking up some moments with friends before we hit the books once again.

We have a long standing tradition with good friends. We share a potluck meal at our house, then the girls beat the boys handily at a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit. (That's exactly how it happens, regardless of what the Old Buzzard might try to tell you.) Some nights we don't ever break out the board game. We just talk, about the trivial and the not so trivial. That was the case several nights ago. Our families have been going very fast in opposite directions for many weeks, so we enjoyed an opportunity to hear about everyone's summer...

The D's just returned from Florida, where they took a cruise and threw a party celebrating 50 years of marriage for Mr. D's folks. (Hi, Gladys!)

The R's have a son who will be a senior in high school this year, and a daughter who just made the drill team. We heard about their family's exciting plans for a busy year.

The R's have had a wonderful change in long term plans. Mr. R was transferred to another city, but his job situation has changed and they will be staying in town after all. We are thrilled, and were interested to hear about their big kitchen remodel project.

Later in the week, Hannah and Mel got together. These two have been pals since infancy, and they are two peas in a pod. Both voracious readers, they share a passion for nature studies and both adore the book My Side of the Mountain. They decided to create an audio version of the book, so they spent a night reading, recording, editing, and mixing sound effects. I'm eager to download the finished product into my ipod so I can listen to it while I go walking.

We ended the week with a visit from our friends who have seven kids. Everyone gets along extremely well, and they are loads of fun to have as guests. We had kids in Hannah's room gabbing, kids in the gameroom playing the Wii, kids in the pool, kids playing ping-pong in the garage, and kids crashing on the couch to snuggle a cute baby. You would think things could get rather crazy with eleven kids together, but it was total smooth sailing and we all had a blast.

Today we went to Nana and Papa's farm. Their friend Irene was in town for a visit. At age 94, Ms Irene is one sharp cookie! She lives alone, cooks, drives, and stays current on world events. She adores babies, and was delighted for the opportunity to sit with Emma. Babies just bring out the best in people, and as I listened to her swoon I felt overwhelmed by how blessed we truly are.

What a great week. Friends, food, fellowship, and fun. I feel tired , but fulfilled. Good bye, summer. It's time for back to school.