Ending Summer Days

The end of the school day and the kids are itching to run. Metaphorically speaking of course. They do get a few traits from their Mother. Only run if you are being chased is our first rule. But it’s funny that each of them has a passionate physical outlet after a day of being cooped up in school. Boy child doesn’t even make it in the house, just jumps out of the (barely stopped) van yelling “Here Mom” and throws his book bag in my general direction. (And he hasn’t even been at school all day!) He grabs his helmet and jumps on his bike. Rides into the wind to the yellow hydrant down the street. He can’t turn on a dime, so I watch him dismount, turn his bike back toward me, and fly down the sidewalk in my direction. Girl child snatches her hula-hoop from its makeshift home against the aging maple. New obsession, this beat-up circle of fun. She received it for her birthday, best twenty-five cents that Grandma every spent at a garage sale. And now she cannot tear herself away. She hulas with her hips, her neck, her arms, on her knees, and any way she pleases. Love these late summer days when the possibilities are still endless, when school can be followed with a bout of outdoor fun before the gang is called in to dinner. There is a sense of urgency to this; we know that fall is coming, with cold winds and early dark. And we spend it well, the currency of these last few summer days flying through our fingers, as soon the daylight and warm weather will as well.