Still summer

We've been back from vacation for almost a week. Eldest starts school in two weeks, Littlest in three. Summer vacation as we used to define it as kids -- from the last day of school in June to the first day of the next school year in late August or early September -- is coming to a close.

I'm not letting it go quietly. I want to take the boys hiking, I'm taking them to the waterpark later today, I want to enjoy the warm sun, and I want to relish the pleasant summer evenings while we still can.

On my iPod, I have a playlist entitled "August/September" that features songs I immediately connect to the end of summer/very beginning of fall. Some of these songs include "Only Time Will Tell" by Asia, "Take Me to Heart" by Quarterflash, "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns n' Roses and "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies. Year after year, this is the mix I start listening to once I get back from our Midwestern vacation. This year, I'm not going near it, at least until after school starts. I don't want to be reminded that summer is ending or of bleak, humid August days from that portended the imminent school year.

In a week back, however, my plan of not going quietly into that autumn night hasn't gone completely to plan. Part of it was just post-vacation recovery, and part of it was the fact we adopted a puppy Monday (more on that in another post). The boys have been lukewarm to the idea of a hike, even if the mountains are coolerBut today, we go to the waterpark. I want to go five more times by the end of summer.

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