Ode to Summer, for I simply will not acknowledge an autumn which does not truly begin until the  Autumnal Equinox, on the 22nd day of this month sometime in the late afternoon.  Yes, school is back in session.  Yes,  the nights are cooler, some mornings even crisp.  But I must sing of my love for the summer until the last verse fades softly, for it is hard to bear the end…

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.”  ~John Lubbock

Gavin.

Gavin toyed with an Edward-do, a la Twilight (the movie), before settling on a mop-top later in the summer.  He is such a sweet, freckle-faced kid.  He turned me into Nonna 6 years ago this summer.  This summer we went to the nursery together and I helped him put together his very first, very own planters of flowers and tomatoes (a passion we share).  He changed my life forever.

Hunter.

My little inquisitive, curious, talkative, adventurer, Hunter, will be 5 soon.  He questions everything, knows something about all topics and is growing like a weed.  This was the summer I had to make a lot of deals with him to get photographs.  If I take one of him, he gets to take one of me.  He is the perfect mix of both his mommy and his daddy and he always asks me, “Did you miss me while I was gone, Nonna?  Are you so glad to see me again?”  I so did and I so am.

Guinivere.

I call Guini my flower girl.  She loves beautiful blooms and picks them every chance she gets.  She likes to play “flower shop” when she comes to visit.  She is quiet, but decided, mysterious and cuddly – but you have to be ready to drop everything for the magic moment, for it can be fleeting.  We hang out, she’s my girl.

Gemma.

This was the summer of Gemma in the quinitessential yellow sundress.  It matches her vibrancy and her spirit.  I wanted one just like it!  She is hilarious and she is two.  She is very good at it.  But she is also very helpful.  She sunscreened herself before outings, or during “naptimes” or whenever she could - a lot!  She’s my little “sweet petite,” who cannot keep her jeans up since she started wearing big-girl undies!

Averi.

Averi-baby is on the run.  All. the. time.  Except when it is time to eat.  She and I share that hobby!  From certain angles, I feel like it’s the early 80′s and I’m chasing Tredessa again.  She loves to wear (and break) my reading glasses and when mommy and daddy go somewhere, she asks me, “Where’s mama?  Where’s Rocky?”  Every now and then while we are running around the backyard together, she will stop and tell me the most hilarious story and uproariously laugh at her own joke.  It cracks me up.

These are the 5 smile-bringers of my summer.  Of my life.  I don’t deserve them, and yet they are here.  And all they do is bring me joy.

Related post:  Scenes from a Good Summer ~ Heaven Fest