Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The End of Summer

Officially, summer ends on September 22.  But for all practical purposes, it ended yesterday - on Labor Day.  We mark the end of the season with pools closing, schools opening (if they haven't already), the final cook-out holiday of the year, and a little reflection on what we did or didn't do over the summer.

My summer was a mixed bag.  On the high side, I attended my first two writers conferences.  Met some great people, gathered lots of good information, and received an invitation to submit when ready from five agents/editors.  My hubby and I also managed to attach a mini vacation to one of those conferences and had a wonderful time.  I got to spend time with all my grandkids and had a lovely visit from out of town family.

But on the down side, we lost our wonderful old dog, Brandi, in July and my daughter-in-law's mom, a very special lady, passed away in August.

I didn't get as much accomplished as I'd hoped for.  The WIP isn't done (still in re-writes), the regular lap swimming at the pool didn't quite happen, and several projects around the house are only partially completed.

But Labor Day also marks a beginning. Just like when we were kids, going off to start a new grade, notebooks full of fresh clean paper. A fresh start. A new year.  To be whatever we make of it. 

I'm excited.

How did your summer go?  Was it everything you hoped for?  Are you eager to move into the fresh start of fall?

Groaner of the Day:  Anne the harpist had a date with her boyfriend Sam, who picked her up right after rehearsal.  She was nervous about leaving her harp in his car while they went dancing but he told her not to worry, he was good friends with the owner of the disco and she could lock her instrument in his office. 

They had a great time, and quite a bit to drink, and the next morning Anne realized she'd forgotten about her harp.  She tried to retrieve it but the club was closed and she was forced to go to that day's rehearsal without it.

The conductor, of course, demanded an explanation.  Anne explained, "I left my harp in Sam's friend's disco."

14 comments:

Dru said...

That was a good groaner.

Cate Masters said...

How great that you were able to attend two conferences. I haven't been in awhile and miss them.
Yep, summer's pretty much shot but autumn's my favorite time of year, so I'm okay with that!

Angelina Rain said...

Sorry for your losses this summer. Besides those, you seem to have had a great summer. :-)

I hate this time of the year. My seasonal allergies are killing me. I feel sick all the time. And the weather in Chicago goes crazy in the fall. It jumps from 90 degrees (Sunday) to 70 (monday) to 51 (today). Mix in a cold with those allergies and you have a very unhappy me. lol.

Hope you live somewhere with nicer weather then Chicago.

LD Masterson said...

Just for you, Dru.

LD Masterson said...

Cate - these were my first two so it was a great experience.

And I love autumn as well. Just so long as the stupid stores don't start putting up the Christmas decorations in September. I hate that.

LD Masterson said...

Thaks you, Angelina.

Sorry the weather is doing you in. We've also gone from highs in triple digits to low 60's in the last couple days. Hard to adjust when it happens so fast. Hope you feel better.

Sarah Ahiers said...

aww i'm sorry about your dog. I'm sure Brandi had a wonderful life.
For me, summer doesn't end until the RenFest season wraps up, at the beginning of October

Maria Zannini said...

I've had a pretty rough year so far. But I ain't licked yet.

I'm hoping things will turn the corner soon.

Arlee Bird said...

It's always weird to me to realize that there's still more weeks of summer. I guess that's just a carryover from schooldays.
My summer was good, but seems like we never get as much done as we would like.
The groaner was too punny.

Lee
Tossing It Out

LD Masterson said...

Thanks, Sarah. She was a sweetie. I still miss her terribly.

Enjoy the RenFest.

LD Masterson said...

Maria - You especially should think of this autumn as the beginning of a new year. Lord knows you need one.

LD Masterson said...

Lee, I guess summer ends when we think it's over. Just as baseball season ends for me when the Red Sox play their last game. (Hopefully, this year that will be well into October.)

Anonymous said...

The summer passed in a blink of an eye. I still can't believe it's September.

LD Masterson said...

Liz, it was a fast one.