Goodbye Summer

I was going to write about how much I despise Labor Day – the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of school - but then I thought, how typical. I haven’t run into one mother in the past few weeks that isn’t mourning the end of these carefree summer days.

It’s not that I don’t love Fall and all it encompasses: warm sunny days, cool nights, sweaters, football games, mums, pumpkins and leaf piles. It’s just that I’m not quite ready for everything else Fall brings with it: alarm clocks, homework, schedules, sports practices and stress.

To me, Labor Day is the Granddaddy of all Sundays. I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach - that feeling I still get on Sunday nights - that the good times are over and it’s back to work (and I haven’t been in school in… quite a few years!)

So here I sit, Labor Day evening, in a quiet house, with alarm clocks set, backpacks full of shiny new school supplies and kids asleep, dreaming of the new school year, and I can’t help but think back on the summer, and how it seemed to pass in an instant. As one friend put it, wasn’t it just June 18? Where did the summer go?

It went to vacations at the beach, swim meets and baseball games. It went to morning walks with a friend, lunches at the North End Beach Grill and drinks on the deck. It went to afternoons on the beach and evenings on the boardwalk. It went to family, friends and good times.

The Summer of 2010 is over for us. Oh, perhaps summer doesn’t really end until September 23, when Autumn begins, but for the Kopp family, summer is finished. School starts tomorrow, soccer started last week, and preseason began a few weeks ago.

Now that Labor Day is (almost) over, I can look at the months ahead more objectively. The start of the school year is really a fresh start for me; almost like a new year. I make resolutions, update my calendar, clean out drawers and start new routines. It's a new beginning!

So I say goodbye to another wonderful Summer. I will pack up our pool towels, goggles, beach tags and happy memories and look forward to a fantastic year ahead. A year filled with a new school for my daughter, a new job for me, and new experiences for all of us.

Summer may be over, but never fear – I hear Memorial Day is only 266 days away!