National Melancholy Week

Uh, never heard of it ?  Well that would be this week.

Summer's traditional end is fast approaching.  I haven't taken a swim yet this summer---better hurry.
Round of golf, sitting under a tree reading a book, beer on the deck---better hurry.  I did hike the woods, walk the dog, ride the bike, I sweated like no tomorrow it was so warm , so humid.  But what did I not do ????   Another summer -----passes----

Children who were high school seniors just a couple of months ago are packing and being driven off to colleges , parents mope or rejoice---but not a single one is non commital.  There is bittersweet emotion, it is inescapable.  Pride, sadness, relief, tears, laughter, sobs.  I see it all around, I see a Dad walking around the lake with his daughter, I know the drill.  He never thought the day would come and now it is upon him and he doesn't want to let go , but knows that he must.  I say to him as I walk by, How is it going ?  He says good, but it is not truly good.  I know.  It is not bad, but it is not truly good.

I met Barbara out walking her dog  this morning, she tells me her daughter, is going off tomorrow to college, she is happy for her daughter and proud and she made it a point of telling me that she knows that she needs to let go.  She was fairly beaming though.

Terri, whose bambino goes to kindergarten in a week or so, is whistfully  sighing every time I see her.

My son's buddies home for the summer are making the rounds of basketball, gyms, movies and diners squeezing in the last conversations, the last meals and the last enjoyment of each others company before they again depart for parts away.

In the midst, our daughter returned home from Washington DC , to join us on our vacation, she looked good, pretty and confident and it was all good.

We all move on, there is no standing still, get used to it.  But always fondly remember the summer just back a little in time.