Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Today Ellie and I are staying with Elijah and Noah all day while their parents tend to some activities of their business. We got up earlier than usual, loaded Jethro into the car with us, stopped at the golden arches for a drive-through breakfast, and by 8:15 a.m. had arrived at our destination. Since Elijah is 12 and Noah is 10, we are by no stretch of the imagination babysitting; we are merely “around” in the way chaperones at a high school dance are “around”--keeping our eyes and ears open and our mouths mostly shut. The boys are at that time in life when they don’t need as much watching as they used to (or will need again when they become teenagers).

The day is warm and sunny, clear and bright, a “10” on the Mellish-meter (Curt Mellish is an award-winning meteorologist on Atlanta’s big WSB radio station--Welcome South, Brother!) The lavender crape myrtles are in bloom. Blue hydrangeas have taken over entire neighborhoods. Last year’s drought seems to have wiped out the entire mosquito population. Perhaps we will sit by the pool later. Perhaps we will take the boys out for lunch. Summer, the perfect season.

As a character in Voltaire's Candide said, it is the best of all possible worlds. But we know that it cannot last. We will seize the day, carpe diem. We will treasure our time together. We will make lasting memories. Too soon it will be past.

2 comments:

  1. You're back! Wait.. you're not back; you're actually away. Whatever... glad to see your post.

    Have fun with your grandchildren. What you have planned sounds idyllic.

    ReplyDelete

<b>Always true to you, darlin’, in my fashion</b>

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