Fading Summer

Yesterday brought 48 degree temperatures and relentless rain.    As a family, it was the coldest day we have experienced since last February; we managed to live in Arizona  from the end of last winter until the summer, so we missed the dreary and chilly Maryland spring.   The sudden unexpected chill lead me to roast a chicken, so the house could smell warm and wintery, and the four of us (Casey, Kenny, Dudley and me) spent the bulk of the day cuddled in the living room, sweatshirts and long pants dragged out of the back of the closet, playing with blocks, watching baseball play-offs and eating.  

                 Even Dudley was chilly, and was happy to snuggle in after Casey took him out on a  rain-soaked  run,

……and Kenny was happy that Daddy was there to keep him warm!

Today is the exact opposite: 70 degress, not a cloud in the sky, boaters out for the last Sunday cruise of the summer, and Casey and Dudley are catching some rays on the dock.   Kenny decided to take a late nap, and I am on the deck looking out at our little piece of paradise.   The living room, strewn with blocks and baseballs, lays abandoned, and the thought of roasted chicken with gravy, so desperately needed yesterday, has been forgotten in favor of BLTS and ice cream.

Sitting out here, as the wind carries a little chill and the leaves fall from the trees, reminds me of those first weeks of having Kenny home with us.   I remember bundling him up so we could bring him down on the dock in early October, two layers of blankets and a hat, as we held him close.   It makes my heart ache a little, remembering his tiny warm body, fuzzy head and constantly rooting little mouth.   And to see him now as he runs across the room, throws baseballs (a surprising distance, too, given how little he is!) and talks so earnestly  in his baby babble makes me see once again, that time flies and I need to savor every minute of this precious time.

And summer is over, fall is here, winter is coming and my baby is growing up before my eyes!   Slow down, baby.   Slow down.