HOPE E. TREMBLAY
This summer flew by.
School starts next week and I’m finding myself clinging to the last days of summer, which is strange since I’m a Fallaholic.
A what? A Fallaholic.
I love everything about fall. I love the cool, crisp air and the warm colors. I love fire pits (but not s’mores — marshmallows are a hard pass for me) and oversized sweaters and football and boots. If I was a Spice Girl I would be Pumpkin Spice.
I’ve already made several trips to my local Dunkin for iced pumpkin coffee and I am not ashamed to say I was given a few new fall/Halloween decorations and they are already on my mantle.
And yet, I’m longing for a beach day. One more day of fun with my children before they board their bus and start a new school year. They are entering fourth and fifth grades and I cannot believe how fast it’s all happening: How quickly the summer passed us by and how I suddenly have two tweenagers.
Even though they are only 9 and 10, I’m feeling nostalgic about their younger years. They spent most of every summer day outdoors. Of course, back then, they were happy with a regular old sprinkler and a sandbox for entertainment. The pre-teen years set in sooner these days and their interest in spending hours outside has waned in favor of electronic devices and YouTube. It’s not all bad, though — my very crafty (and messy) daughter has learned some pretty cool ways to organize her many markers and washi tape rolls thanks to her favorite YouTubers.
I asked my son the other day if there was something he really wanted to do to end the summer, and I admit I was thoroughly disappointed that his response was “not really.”
Sigh. A deeper look would find that perhaps my desire to have one last summer adventure is more about wanting to keep them little for a bit longer than it is about working on my tan.
If anyone has a great suggestion for how we can squeeze in one last day of summer fun and relish these younger years, send me a note at [email protected].
