labor day no way

the end of summer is always great. some lament the return to schedules, the school shopping, the college drop offs, the end of beach days.

i prefer to drop everything, and after a very intense summer, it's a welcome relief. the kids return home from camp (and continue to incessantly reminisce about every moment of their collective experience), and once the laundry is sifted through and packed away, it's time to play!

end of august weather is gorgeous - warm and dry (despite periodic katrina-like downpours) so the thought is: leave the beds, leave the kitchen, leave the school stuff, the mail, and most everything else. get outside! the kids tend to be at their loveliest: giddy, happy, free, easy, non-complaining, non-competitive, and up for anything. burgers in the city at 10pm? sure! a walk to kismet on fire island at 6pm? great!

this spontaneous and easy-going nature seems to set the perfect tone. yesterday, we head into our customary breakfast spot. we order, and continue to giggle. the kids are downright delicious, as is the friande and café creme. marlee looks straight at me to let me know that directly behind us, in tiny café gitane, is none other than david schwimmer, 'ross' of friends fame. when i ask her if she'd like to gently go over to introduce herself or request a photo with my newly purchased iphone, she insists that it would be rude to interrupt him. he's eating breakfast with a friend, and i am admonished by marlee for even entertaining such a thought on her behalf. yeahhhh!!! a real new yorker! i'm so proud ...

and why the iphone? yes, it's sleek, and as a long-time apple fan, it seems appropriate. however, i am actually goaded into the purchase after thursday's events. andi and i are guests of friends at a red sox - yankees game - basically, we find ourselves in the best seats at the house that ruth built, practically sitting on the field. A-rod and jeter are within whispering distance (no sign of madonna!). the game is spectacular, the weather gorgeous ... a perfect afternoon. all of the excitement occurs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and we leave en masse with, say, 50,000 other fans. the traffic - horrendous - and even leaving the parking lot is an exercise in patience (and futility!). finally, we are on our way, and i decide it's quicker to weave our way through the local streets of the bronx (never did read 'bonfire of the vanities'!). what do i do? i pull out (what andi characterizes as) a life-size map of the bronx. the three boys (whose cumulative age is still well below my own number of years) stare at me - equal parts disbelief and horror! have i ever heard of something called GPS? the following day, the purchase is made, so now i can make calls from abroad, and leap buildings with a single bound (not to mention actually use the damn thing to help me navigate!).

ahhhhh, summer. labor day, the last licks - ice cream, sand, nothing planned - we'll miss august!

can it be?

is it true? is summer really (finally!) here? can we eat ice cream? frolic in bare feet? eat outside?

the interesting thing about the change of seasons is the marking of time. as jane goes into 'the deep void' in november, the leaves have turned, it's mid-fall, and the temperature continues to drop. it feels like the beginning of winter - a bleak and dreary time (although frankly, i think that winter this year surpasses spring for sunshine and warmth!).

a wet spring produces a multitude of storms, and schizophrenic days - warm, then cool, dry, then moist - and everyone's mood seems to follow! but now the grass is green, the leaves abundant, and we have sun - yes, sun! and it seems like a meteorological conclusion, quite metaphorical actually, to jane's journey into, around, and over breast cancer. it's like a new beginning.

it is time for the beach! for yankee stadium! for ralph's italian ices! oh, the glory of it all, everyone smiling, tops down on the cabriolets, shorts and flip flops. this past weekend, we indulge profusely - we flit from one pool party to the next, from one BBQ to another. copious amounts of mustard and ketchup are ingested, with a side of burgers and foot longs. beer, wine, lemonade! and friends! everyone's come out to play!

one of our most favorite things in the world to do - a day well spent at robert moses state park, where one can find the most lovely, untouched beach at the western tip of fire island. where, in fact, it is just a tad too windy for swimming and relaxing, we instead take a long stroll through dunes and sea grasses to the fire island light house. it is pristine, quiet, peaceful. we continue further along, passing beach cottages, to kismet - a quaint 'town' - for ice cream. the two hour round trip walk transports us to the most heavenly of places - a platitude not known since our days in miami some weeks ago.

additionally, jane and i share a funny experience on sunday morning - a picture perfect day. we venture into the city for our usual sunday morning petit dejeuner, and we are seated next to a lovely young couple with a baby slung over the wife's mid-section (five weeks old). we strike up a conversation, and despite the fact that we are inches apart, it is clear that we (both couples) are peering across an invisible time barrier. they are fresh new parents, and have a whole lifetime of experiences to fulfill. they do not know what lies ahead, but they are confident that it is full of promise, hope, good things. we are on the other side, fondly recalling those early, innocent days of marriage, parenthood; we too recall those optimistic sentiments, untouched by realities. they look at us, and think it's sounds great - three grown children, a home, stability - and can't imagine the path that leads to this particular spot. a curious and compelling divide.