Winding Down; Gearing Up

"The winding down of summer puts me in a heavy philosophical mood."  - Robert Fulgham       

 

The last days of August are quickly coming to an end.  It is the wind down time of summer that has sent me into a tail spin each of these past five years.  Jacob will be returning to Guelph this weekend. Frankly, I'm not feeling the angst I have in previous years.  My friend Gail says that I'm growing up.  Maybe but maybe not.  

It has been a good summer but also an exhausting summer.  Already challenged by a host of annoying health issues, the abundance of company we've hosted and entertaining we've done this summer has taken its toll.  I'm tired.  I'm looking to September days when the air is still warm and the house will be relatively quiet.  To days when I won't have to call home to find out how many mouths I'm feeding for dinner only to arrive to find that the calculation changed in the hour since I made the call and I am now one steak short.  To mornings when I don't have to rise at 6:30 to iron Jacob's shirt and pack his lunch to take to work.  To evenings when I'm not struggling to hear the television over the cacophony of voices emanating from downstairs where the gang are playing board games.

I will miss Jacob, to be sure.  But at least for the first few weeks, I won't miss the chaos that comes from being the house where all his friends gather.  For the next couple of weeks, Courtney will be staying with us.  She will start classes at Ryerson next week but her apartment won't be ready for a couple of weeks yet.  Court is easy to have here - quiet and undemanding.  

The weekend after Labour Day, I will once again participate as a crew member in The Weekend to End Women's Cancers.  I'm team captain for The Hope Diamonds this year, running the hydration station that's been in the care of our family circle since 2007.  As we older members are finding the physical requirements more difficult with time, I was very pleased to have a host of the young people I've been feeding all these years, step up to join our crew.  While it's been a bit like herding cats, I think we're just about ready.  We're sure to have a lot of fun while we support the men and women who will be making the 60k journey, walking through the streets of Toronto. 

Today the sun is shining and the air is warm.  I have work to do but I might skip it for another day and spend an hour or two with the pink crystal beads I recently bought but haven't quite figured out what to make with as yet.  The big maple tree outside my bedroom window is starting to change, a swath of crimson has emerged in it's upper branches.  As much as I appreciate the glory of the fall ravine, I wouldn't mind enjoying the still green days before they're gone.