Back To School

The long, hot, lazy days of summer are coming to an end. Soon, children everywhere will be back at school and the whirl of homework and extracurricular activities will catch us into its frenetic spin again. Soon, the lush leaves will change color and all foliage in the neighborhood will be brown and crunchy and, more often than not, unquestionably dead. Soon, the Midwestern air will cool our indecisive climate to its pre-wintertime chill and we'll grow certain in the knowledge that snow, hail and icestorms are as inevitable as high heating bills. And, today, the only thing I can say about all of that is...

THANK GOD!

If I never see another mosquito, I'll still have had enough bites--after just this summer--to last my lifetime. I want my writing time back, and my discussions with my friends, too--uninterrupted by our darling children's questions. I want to finally be able to wear a sweater again, and to not have to set foot in our community's public swimming pool for at least nine months. I want to throw out my flip-flops, my insect repellent and my nearly empty sunscreen bottles. I want to have a bonfire of summer-reading lists and Tastee-Freez coupons

I will, of course, desperately want all of these things back come January. But, for now, I'm heartily glad that tomorrow is "School Supply Drop-Off Day" and that the new school year begins this week.

So, so glad.