The End is Nigh...

Summer is on its way out..and that requires contemplation! 

But first, many things to attend to before contemplation..My neighbour ET and her husband were off on a weekend bus tour to Pittsburgh this morning to see a couple of baseball games...and I was to help shuttle them to the bus pick-up - but not until 7:30AM ..which meant I had time to get down to the lake first to enjoy yet another pastel sunrise... this time all dressed up in yellow, blue and pink stripes...the sky that is, not me..(me, dressed in horizontal stripes? not a chance.!)

Then it was off to the doctor to get a pat on the back for taking my pills and keeping my blood pressure down - I suspect it was the pills though, that deserved the pat on the back! Whatever... I will take applause at any time! 

Then my gardening neighbour E decided it was a good day to dig up my birthday tree from last year that had not survived and return it to the nursery for a refund.  (They have a generous two year warranty on their trees...) It was a clump of river birch - I love birch trees - and its white bark and yellow autumn leaves would have looked wonderful out there..but alas..perhaps it was not the right spot for it?  Wisely or not, I decided to exchange it for a Japanese Maple..not a dark burgundy coloured one, but a light green variety that will turn an orangey red in the fall.. I love red.. Once that was all done, I took the rest of the day off to recover...and think about the end of summer...

This is the beginning of our Labour Day Weekend - the official end to summer holidays and the start of the new school year..As a retired school teacher, Labour Day used to bring back fond memories... the excitement of a bright new year, working with old and new colleagues and students again, having new teams to coach, but it also brought back memories of the stress of going back ...to pressures, deadlines, lesson plans, marking, and those long long work hours with little leisure time... Now, it just brings a great big sigh of relief that I do not have to go back...free at last, free at last... and I wonder how I ever managed to do that job for all those years..where did I get the energy? When did I get this old? 

Whenever I am at the cottage on this weekend, I like to sit on the dock Tuesday morning, overlooking the water, listening to the birds and lifting up my cup of coffee to toast all those brave, hard-working souls who are heading back to school and then I toast my good fortune - my teacher's pension and the luxury of retirement! This year, I will not be at the cottage, but will sit on my deck, overlooking my garden, listening to the school buses going by, and do the same!  

And I will look ahead to autumn, my favourite time of year, and even if I am not in France as intended, I will try to work in some autumn fun between medical appointments - maybe something France-related ? Or maybe some spring-trip-to-France planning? Now that would be positive thinking, uplifting and even productive!