End of Summer by Diane Burton

First, my heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Texas ravaged by Harvey and it's aftermath. I can't fathom what you're going through.

Summer

OMG where did it go? Our electric bill shows we had summer. Hot, sticky, muggy Michigan weather with nary a break. This was the summer of family events. A wedding shower for my niece kicked off the season, followed by a baby shower for another niece, and after that was the wedding--outdoors, 90° with 90% humidity. Right now, we're eagerly awaiting word on the niece who's pregnant. That baby is coming any day. My sister's first grandchild. I'm almost as excited for her as I am for our son's twins coming in November. Or October. Or . . .

Although the Great American Total Solar Eclipse passed south of us, we got our special glasses and watched from our deck. I don't remember ever seeing even a partial eclipse before. Considering their cost, I'm saving those glasses for the next eclipse in seven years.

my first selfie

I can’t believe it’s been two months since the no-longer-Arizona family moved in with us. Yesterday they officially moved into their new home. Son and Hubs spent several days building stuff for the new house. Daughter and Daughter-in-law cleaned and painted. The movers brought everything from storage. Tonight, they’ll sleep in their own beds.

While I’m happy they (and we) will have their own space again, I’m a tiny bit sad. Toddler Girl and I have bonded this summer. Snuggles and kisses and storytime with her curled up on my lap. We’ve watched too many episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. I can sing the theme songs. So can she. 

With Labor Day around the corner, kids are getting ready for school. (In Michigan, most schools don’t start until the day after Labor Day.) My other grandchildren (going into 2^nd & 5^th grades) are excited, now that they know who their teachers are. When they weren’t at camp this summer, they hung out here a lot. Sometimes overnight, sometimes for a couple of hours. They’ve had fun playing with their little cousin. 

I love having them all here. Sure, it’s tiring. I feel my age more when they’re around. But I’m building memories for them. Good memories, I hope, that will stay with them long after I’m gone. Now that all the grandkiddies are close, I’m taking advantage of any time I can get with them.

Between Scouts, flag football, dance, karate, more dance, I think the older kids are booked almost every night—and Saturdays. It tires me out just thinking about their parents running them to all their activities. When my two were young, we wanted them to have a variety of experiences. So I understand why their parents are offering the kids different opportunities. What it also means is we don’t see them too often. Maybe a Friday overnight so the parents can have “date night.” In school, a couple of years ago, our granddaughter had to write a persuasive paragraph. So she wrote one encouraging her parents to have date night more often so they could have an overnight at Nana and Papa’s. Boy, did that ever make my day.

Toddler Girl isn’t ready for all those activities. Yet. With both parents working, we agreed to help out by taking care of her one day a week. Looks like I’ll still get those snuggles and kisses. 😊 Just not as often.

We haven’t seen the end of summer. We’ll have hot days and those that hit a high of 60°. Beach days will be few, and most of the tourists will leave—except for weekends. I always feel a bit sad when summer comes to an end. As much as I love Fall, I know what’s right behind it. Winter.

Maybe I should just enjoy each day as it comes. Captain Sundae's is still open. We'll get to enjoy a few more visits before they close for the winter.

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mysteries. She blogs here on the 30th of each month, on Paranormal Romantics on the 13th, and on her own blog on Mondays.