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Tiaras and Trucks

Monday, September 19, 2011

Sweetness of Summer




For months, the humidity seeped through the cracks in doors, dampening foreheads with sweat.  

Temperatures climbed upwards, causing us to spend days playing in water or retreating to the coolness of the library.

Playing at the park meant ponytails to keep hair off our necks and baths every night to scrub away the thin film of sunscreen, sweat, and dirt unique to little boys enamored with feeding wood chips to plastic dinosaurs and the little stone turtle in our backyard.

We lingered in wayward sprinklers on neighborhood walks.

Slid feet into sandals and flip flops and Crocs.

Ignored the back-to-school sales and the days slipping by on the calendar.

Rode the lazy days and evenings towards Labor Day without realizing how near that weekend loomed.

Then, September.

Labor Day in Michigan marks the change of seasons more than the autumnal equinox. 

Even if the temperature climbs back into summer-like heat, we have already pushed aside our swimsuits to make room for sweaters, and the heat is just a reminder of what lies in wait at the end of a long winter.

Years ago, my family welcomed fall with a soccer tournament at the Peach Festival, a Labor Day celebration in a nearby community.

This year, I decided the kids would experience the Peach Festival for their first time.

And they did.

And the experience was nothing like I imagined.

Driving as a passenger with my mom meant not really needing to pay attention to where we were going all those years.  With Ryan in buckled down study mode, I scoured the website map and still drove to the wrong location on my own.

Friday and Saturday were sweltering, and Saturday’s storms cooled things down for the remainder of the weekend, possibly a little too much.

With the temperature dropping by the minute, we wore hoodies and wandered around the craft show tents with sides, to block the wind.  I found myself wishing for pants or gloves or my comfortable brown boots as I tried to indulge the kids on the swings for a while.

My hair stuck in my lip balm; I used more than several tissues chasing running noses around the playground. 

Six eyes watered from the wind, and I let myself slide into thinking maybe I should have waited another year, a warmer year, a year Ryan could have joined us.

But then Abbey saw the farmers' market stands and forgot the wind.

Carefully, she inspected the four peaches in each "cute little basket" until finding the perfect combination.

And in the car, out of the wind, we enjoyed a few last bites of summer.




not a fan of the peaches
maybe he's waiting for fresh picked apples this fall


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31 Comments:

  • At September 19, 2011 at 8:33 AM , Anonymous Mama Wants This said...

    The unexpected outcomes are always the surprisingly good ones :) 

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 11:17 AM , Anonymous Emily @ My Pajama Days said...

    If only we could see life through our children's eyes more often. It sounds like it ended up being the perfect day.

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 2:53 PM , Anonymous Angela said...

    I don't know about perfect, but it had at least a few moments of beauty, and that's enough some days :)

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 2:53 PM , Anonymous Angela said...

    I like how that works :)

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 3:51 PM , Anonymous J. Bruno said...

    I could feel the chill.  I LOOOONG for the chill.  This weekend in Florida was sticky, humid, and bra drenching.  :-(  Yick.  Fun weather for a tailgate.  Not.

    Such a sweet memory to capture.  It was quite an undertaking for you to take them without Ryan, but so worth the experience.  That picture of Abbey is adorable.  Like she was born to eat peaches.  :-)

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 4:25 PM , Anonymous Jessica said...

    I want to go with you next year for the peach festival. I love peaches. But not really the end of summer. Summer is my favorite. 

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 5:50 PM , Anonymous jentos23 said...

    Aw, this is so sad...I'm already missing summer. You described it so perfectly with the sunscreen and the neighbor's sprinklers. Perfect. And what is your husband studying for?

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 8:18 PM , Anonymous bridgetstraub.com said...

    Really nice post. I wish the seasons in L.A. were more pronounced. That peach looks yummy too.

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 10:06 PM , Anonymous Hopes@Staying Afloat said...

    OH those peaches look AMAZING!!!  I want some!  I'm so not ready for summer to end.  Just not ready!

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 10:13 PM , Anonymous Tatter Scoops said...

    Oooh this post makes me miss autumn so badly! Being that we only have to seasons of hot and hotter (kidding), sometimes I feel bad that my son born a winter baby have to miss out on these changing of seasons

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 11:10 PM , Anonymous Galit Breen said...

    Delicious- the peaches, your sweeties, and your writing! 

     
  • At September 19, 2011 at 11:32 PM , Anonymous Tracie Mason Holton said...

    Ahhhh... Sounds perfect. :) It reminds me me of Alabama. We never get that kind of summer in Seattle, but I wish we did. I'm really trying to learn to love fall because that's mostly what we get here. 

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 12:46 AM , Anonymous Kimberly said...

    I am so not ready for summer to end! I don't live in Michigan, but the weather this weekend was COLD! What happened?!?

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 7:16 AM , Anonymous Elena said...

    I'm glad you found your way and still enjoyed the day. I love the Peach Festival and all the other fun fall things in Michigan. I am always sad to see the warm weather go, but there's nothing like a crisp trip to a festival or cider mill.

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:39 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    Fall in Michigan = awesome
    Winter in Michigan = awesome for two days (preferably Christmas Eve & Day)

    I soooo wish we could go from fall to spring :)

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:39 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    I have socks on.  Socks.  

    :(

    It also means I have to shop, and who knows when I'll get around to THAT. 

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:40 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    What about spring?  Don't you get spring?  See, I would almost prefer that to our winters.  I try to find the positives in winter, but it's tough for me.

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:41 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    xo

    The peaches were so delicious.  There's just something about locally grown produce that you choose yourself.

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:41 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    Yes, I complain about winter (a lot, just a warning) but the change of seasons is a gift here, it really is.

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:41 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    I think we ate them by that night!  They were so good :)

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:42 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    The trade-off is a killer winter, though :(  That's NOT my favorite.

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:43 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    Thanks Jen!  I miss summer, too.  

    He's an actuary, so there's a series of exams he is constantly taking.  They're impossibly hard.

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:43 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    Yes! come visit for the end of summer.  It's a magical time here.  We might be able to entice you to like fall, too, at least for a few days!

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 11:44 AM , Anonymous Angela said...

    Oooh, sweaty tailgates are not fun!  For me, tailgating is about that crisp morning air turning into t-shirt weather by game time :)

    Nothing like letting her eat fruit cleaned with a baby wipe, right?

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 12:44 PM , Anonymous Kir said...

    look at those faces!!!! Love them! We have apple picking and pumpkin Picking in NJ and PA. I am looking forward to those weekend and just between you and me, I always dress wrong and dress the boys WRONG, because I still think it's Aug and it's Oct ;)
    but I love that even in the midst of that, you found the sweetness , the good stuff. It's what is so wonderful about you...what makes you an incredible mom.

     
  • At September 20, 2011 at 12:52 PM , Anonymous Angela said...

    Giggling.  Just remember hoodies for the boys, and they'll be fine.  Kids are never cold :)

    And xoxo for the compliment.  I don't feel incredible most days ;)

     
  • At September 24, 2011 at 3:56 PM , Anonymous Christine Siracusa said...

    love the peaches, making new memories out of old, and cheers to you being in the driver's seat with your own cuties in tow!

     
  • At September 24, 2011 at 11:27 PM , Anonymous Karen @ Time Crafted said...

    You wrote this with such a sweet rhythm. Love the passing of seasons (or at least the adored memories that float through my mind & heart from when I lived in locales with actual seasons....we have pleasant sunny days, heat, or rain here). We picked our first apple off of our hybrid apple tree the other day. So, even though we got up to triple digits this week, I can hear whispers of fall on its way.  I hope you enjoy yours! :>

     
  • At September 25, 2011 at 10:25 PM , Anonymous Mama Track said...

    So adorable! I love the peach festival concept. If it's warm, of course. So glad you guys had fun!

     
  • At October 7, 2011 at 12:20 PM , Anonymous Karen @ Time Crafted said...

    I hear you. I LOVED snow white winters as a kidlet, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be thrilled with them as the grownup.  Kidlets get snow angels, listening for snow days on the radio (oh, wait...bet that's looking it up on the net now, lol), snowmen, snow forts, snow fights.....but, I do remember grownups get golashes, driving on black ice, defrosting frozen pipes in the basement with hair dryers, salting the walkway, a heating bill, and other such things.  So, I guess I'll just appreciate my memories, but when I made the above comment, we were in a heat wave and I was just getting downright grumpy about it!

     
  • At October 7, 2011 at 8:10 PM , Anonymous Angela said...

    If I could just figure out a way to not be so COLD out there.  In the cold :)

     

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