At Summer's End

The tourists are gone. I drove to town tonight and parked directly in front of the Chinese restaurant. I had my choice of spots. A brisk breeze blew off the lake. A few stores - those selling t-shirts and ice cream and baseball cards - were already closed. I picked up our dinner, ran home and enjoyed our last meal of summer at the picnic table, a small fire burning in the pit. We toasted to the first grade before we ate. We toasted to Alex - a boy covered with dirt and soot and probably still a bit of sand from Maine, a boy we would try to find beneath the grime in the bathtub a couple of hours later, layer by layer washed away before he was tucked into bed, his backpack waiting at the door, his clothes set out by his dresser. He plans to take the bus tomorrow. The new year starting off with a new adventure.

And so the summer ends.

It began and ended in a blaze of glory - the bookend weekends of our most fabulous season spent in Maine with dear friends. And while there were arguably more cloudy days than sunny, while I wore long sleeve shirts more often than tanks, while days at the beach were often spent in sweatshirts, blankets and towels in my lap ready to wrap freezing wet children, it was a carefree love affair nevertheless.There is no joy like watching my children swim. No happiness like witnessing them as they explore the coast. No greater peace than a moment on the lake, eyes closed, sun streaming in my face. No greater contentment than relaxed time with family and with friends.

Tomorrow school begins again. September always brings the comfort of routine, of changing leaves and chilled night air. The tourists are gone. Tomorrow the town will be quiet save the buzz of us locals resuming our lives over coffee and checkout line of the Great American.

We celebrated the full moon Friday night with a bonfire at the beach. It was a perfect night. The moon rose to its glory over the Atlantic. The fire burned. The children played. The adults laughed. We stayed until the moon was high and the sky full of stars. We laid on blankets and towels, our eyes open, our eyes closed. We toasted marshmallows. We put on sweatshirts. We stayed until we were too tired to stay any more, a fitting farewell to summer.