Farewell to Summer

The Summer came and the summer passed and now it's mid-September and the dauntless ivy has once again taken over the screens on the front of our house . So is too late to look back at this season of long days and steamy nights?I hope not.In July, our  niece and godchild Grace celebrated a big birthday here, with all her siblings who came from all over; and also my own sister Nan from Florida who is her mum, and her husband Troy and Troy's parents and so many great others. It was a happy day, with food and drink and maybe just ONE small pack of smokes.

There were games...

There were drinks, and strolls, and smiles.

Lots of smiles..

And this  was just one sweet weekend in July.

August came and Nan had elective surgery the complications fro which kept her in the ICU for 8 days and THAT was sure scary, for what would any of us in this family do without Na, the mother of Grace, this first friend to me her little sister?

[gallery ids="243,2009,2008" type="rectangular"]

Thank God she is mending now. In fact, apart from learning to walk with a titanium knee joint implanted in her living flesh, she is sharper than ever, more 'Nan-like' than ever, as I saw when I flew to Tarpon Springs to help with the transition from the hospital to home.

And so the season wound down. We had a whole week with three of our four grandchildren and a little guest and that was great, though some old guy tried to hustle them at pool.(Haha, no. That's my husband David, their grandpa.)

During that week we climbed ev'ry mountain, we forded every stream..

Also in August had a Marotta Family Weekend with all of David's brothers and their kids and played  baseball..

A sort of an unrecognizable kind of baseball.

One day we all got back-to-school haircuts.

 Always we dressed for the sun, I in a get-up that USED to button, back in my skinny-day 40s..

And finally we had one last weekend together, on Labor Day when we we sat around some more...

The children joyfully in the moment

and we older one often in more pensive moods.

Because we knew it was coming: The Autumn.

And now here we are on the lip of it and I'm remembering all over again that the descent into winter is in fact every bit as lovely as that long slow climb into summer.

Because, I mean, what's nicer than a view through a latticework of ivy buzzing with the happy bees?