Summer 2018: Days 96-101

Summer is officially in the home stretch. The weather has even cooled.

Today was a slow Monday. The weekend was lazy. We had a soccer practice last week. I took the dog on a long walk yesterday. Lori's aunt visited yesterday and today. I lounged in the sun for a little while Saturday. Work seems to be trudging along. We had a cloud day that is a sure sign of August and that summer is concluding.

And last week, a good friend from the boys' school who had been battling leukemia and finally winning against the disease developed meningitis and died kind of suddenly. I read the news while standing outside my car, waiting for Ben after school, and yelled out an audible "Fuck!" Her death was a gut punch to everyone.

So maybe we call summer here. I've done this before: a tragedy drains any enthusiasm I had left for the season. I'll keep writing about these last days, and I want to get to the pool one more time. And I'm not going to stop enjoying working in the midday shady heat in the backyard. But hell, another summer has passed, too quickly, ending with sadness and relief instead of optimism.

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