The End of Summer is Nigh

I've stated before that the month of August is like one long Sunday. The closer we get to Labor Day the more this holds true. I feel like each day is an hour and the light and air are already changing. The arrival of Hurricane Irene on the East Coast this weekend has ushered in cooler winds and I can't help but think of bright blue September skies and the golden light of fall.

The end of a season always feels like something ominous is lurking just around the next corner. The skeptical New Englander in me comes forward and doesn't like what might be new and different just around the bend. The unexpected new elements of a season (*shakes fist at climate change*) do not put me at ease. I get comfortable in the present season and my fight to keep winter and its colder temperatures at arms length begins.

I try not to cram too much into this last week. I try to gaze a little longer at the morning light. To stand on my front step a few minutes more each evening embracing the twilight and the summer evenings warmth. Too soon the leaves will be off the trees and blowing down my path. Too soon we will be boarding a big yellow bus and carrying away just a bit more of our youth.

A Week with Soucy

TD went off to camp this week (I still get nervous each time I think of it) and that means a week with The Comedian as the big girl in the house. It's been a blessing and a blast. We've had quiet story time (something she normally doesn't sit through), taken in a puppet show and Recess Monkey concert. We had a picnic at Wolf Trap, spent mornings rockin' to the White Stripes and cuddled.


Even better I have realized that without her Chatty Cathy big sister around The Comedian can have some actual conversations. I told her she was a ham and she said, "I'm no ham. I Soucy-Ham!" It's been a really good week.

Back to School

New Shoes? Check.

Purple nail polish, hair bow and socks? Check.

Lunch box with non-nut snack included? Check.

Incessant whining about not being able to watch Super Why! and Curious George this morning? Check.

A two hour absence of answering questions like, "Why is that an umbrella?" CHECK!

Future as a hand-sign throwing sorority girl or gang member? A high possibility.

On Life, Death and Our Children

I have never felt so inadequate or so much like an adult as when I attended my friend's mothers funeral a few weeks ago. I was alone in attending and unlike other funerals I didn't have my grandmother, or my father or my husband to lean on. As I sat there listening to my friend and her sister eulogize their mother with such tremendous poise and grace I felt that we were passing into a new phase of our lives. Our parents are dying now. We have officially grown up.

Then I thought back to my childhood and remembered a few of my school friends whose parents passed away due to long illnesses while we were still in grade school. In first grade I celebrated my birthday with cupcakes at 8 a.m. so that the whole class could attend a fellow classmates fathers funeral. I do not remember seeing the little girl much throughout the day but I often wonder if she derived any comfort at all from seeing her entire class sitting in the pews and being there for her.

In sixth grade it happened all over again and this time with a deeper understanding. We girls were exceptionally weepy because despite being conscious of it or not we were all yearning to pull away from our mothers while at the same time still desperately needing their guidance and wisdom. I know that having the whole class present at my friends mothers funeral was consoling to my friend and a bit of a needed distraction.

However, now I wonder if parents would be so quick to allow their children to attend the funeral of a classmates parent like we did. It was a field trip of sorts and one that was discussed in class prior to attending and afterwards. Coming from a family of many elderly relatives I had already seen my fair share of funerals but now I know there are many parents who spare their children this experience. Would they allow such a field trip in school's now? I kind of doubt it. We like to spare our children from bad or sad things these days. But isn't that part of growing up?

How do you talk to your children about death when they are six and then when they are twelve? When a friends parent dies do you make up a story or have an honest talk about your beliefs and what death really means? Would you allow your child to attend a classmates parents funeral?







On an entirely different note:
LeapFrog has launched 1 Million Reading Hours in conjunction with the NEA’s National Reading Month, to bring attention to literacy and to encourage families to make time to read together. By pledging to set aside at least 10 minutes a day, parents can contribute to the national goal of 1 million reading hours committed. Enter the giveaway by posting a comment stating how much time you plan to pledge in the LeapFrog 1 Million Reading Hours Campaign. A winner will be chosen randomly at the months end, and he or she will receive one (green) Tag reader + 5 books (chosen by LeapFrog) for personal use, as well as an expanded-memory LeapFrog School Tag reader + 10 books (chosen by LeapFrog) to donate to their local library!