Summer Nights

Last nigh Ellie had a stomach ache and fell asleep on the couch before dinner, Vince fell asleep while eating (very pathetic, but Evan and I got a kick out of watching him put a blueberry in his mouth, chew while his eyes slowly closed, then snapping awake to put another blueberry in his mouth.) so it was just Caden after dinner.  (As a side note, I don't know WHAT happened with my kids today to make them so tired...I wish I could replicate it!)  My mom bought Ellie some shoes she found at Babies R Us, both the same brand, both the same size, but one was too big and the other too small, so we were returning them.  I wanted to get a baby book and a boy coming home outfit...just in case.  So Caden and I were off to Babies R Us. 

As we turned right onto The Strip, I noticed the truck in front of us had a static sticker that said "Boys Of Summer" with a baseball on it.  It made me think about this season, that's quickly coming to an end.  Now, if you ask me my favorite season, I'll tell you fall.  I really do love fall, it's from so much influence from my mother, but there's something about summer that I really love too.  I love how much time we spend outside in the summer and how everything seems so fresh, like my garden and sweet corn, and the way summer nights feel.  Years ago, I went to a movie with a friend, Mama Mia, I think.  We came out of the theater and it was twilight.  There was a cool breeze, but it was still warm.  I STILL remember standing in that parking lot, arms and legs warm with that summer smell in my nose thinking, "Remember this.  In 7 months it will be cold.  This warm breeze will cut through your clothes and you'll be wading though slush in this same parking lot.  Remember how this feels to get you through Ohio Winter."  And I did.  Many times over years since I had "my moment" I've thought about how summer felt on my skin when snow was falling.  So I tried to pass it along to my son last night, as we were walking from Babies R Us to Office Max (to get school supplies!).  He made eye contact the whole time I was talking to him, but I think it was lost.  He's too young to be nostalgic.  So I'm passing it on to you.  In the words of Ferris Bueller,

Summer always seems to move so fast for me.  This summer has been especially bad with the baby.  I'm so focused on August 9th, I've lost most of June and July.  So my goal for the rest of the summer, with and without Baby, is to try and enjoy it.  I'm going to make another memory, like the one from the movie theater parking lot, to get me through the end of Ohio Winter, when it forecast is calling for snow, AGAIN, and I haven't seen the sun in months.