I studied my mothers’ hands. Hands that still shone the beauty of youth behind the layers of age. Anyone could see they belonged to a woman who lived life to the fullest. Tiny sunspots dotted her skin and short nails represented a desire for cleanliness and usefulness, ready at a moment’s notice, these hands were. Her knuckles were slightly swollen, evidence of days long ago filled with sewing and cleaning and cooking. Busy hands belonging to a women with a house full of needs only she could meet.

Fire up the grill! It’s Labor Day! A celebration of working America. Now, I’m wondering…does this mean non-working America should sit this one out? I mean, there are a lot of unemployed, layed-off, no work to be had, people in our country right now. People who would love to be celebrating Labor Day because they are part of the labor force that drives our nation forward.  What if they’re collecting unemployment, using food stamps, and have medical paid for by the rest of us?

Fall is here. I can hardly believe it. There is a hint of cool air behind every warm moment.  I sat outside for a while, eating my lunch today. As I faced the sun, tiny beads of perspiration gathering at my hairline, yet a chill ran down my spine.  It’s was still summer to the side of me facing the warm rays of our friendly fire-ball, but it was definitely a different season to the side facing the shade.

There is a lot of work involved in keeping the boat afloat. It needs constant care and attention, plenty of elbow grease.  We’ve noticed whenever we let ourselves slack off, we end up having to haul it out of the water and scrape off barnacles that shouldn’t have been allowed to latch on in the first place. That’s what happens when we let things go. Little inconveniences turn into problems; narley things start to attache themselves. It always ends up being a job we could have avoided.

Oh, my. America is getting old. All of us “kids” are in our fifty’s and sixty’s now, even Mick and Harrison and Demi and Cher.  Our children are entering middle age, filling the spot where we used to be. And our parents? Well, they have become impossibly old! Suddenly, we’re kind of old, and they’re antiques. Not only that, but us kids with our sore hips and bad knees are having to step in and take care of them. Something I never thought of myself doing. Something I never thought of my parents needing.

As a country of legendary marketing finesse, “they” have sold “us”, the general public, a bevy of brilliant and powerfully positive slogans; Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life, Just Do It, Count Your Blessings, Live in the Moment, Because You Can, Take Nothing for Granted, Go for the Gusto, etc.  All suggestions with the best of intentions, directed at encouraging our society to search out the positive in every situation. Chin up, ol’ boy! And you know what?  “They”, are right!

We pulled up logs and gathered around the camp fire, roasted marshmallows and anxiously waited for the big show to begin.  We were all very hopeful this years fireworks show would be the best ever.  Come to think of it, the 4th of July has always been one of those hopeful holidays. Most of the time, the weather is questionable so we spend a lot of time with the weather channel, hoping for a favorable forecast.  We call traveling family and hope they’re safe and getting close enough to start the barbecue. Then we hope there is enough propane in the tank to cook all the burgers and hot dogs. We hope the corn on the cob is sweeter than last years.

I spent the morning in our crawl space going through box after box looking for old photographs of our kids when they were babies. Anyone beside me have packets full of unmarked photos from forgotten vacations, ancient Christmases, birthdays where you hardly recognize yourself?

He was there the day I was born. I wasn’t able to see him but I could feel his presents. Come to think of it, I actually don’t know of a time when I wasn’t aware of him even if only in the background of my life, occasionally blocking the tracks I was screaming down in a near head on collision. There was no escaping him, like hiding in a closet or anything. There are those you can’t really hide from, no matter what, and he has always been one of them.

We gathered around the first beach fire of the summer last night. Not a giant roaring bon-fire, but a fire big enough to keep us warm, yet small enough for safety. The stars and the moon were out. Moonlight reflected across the water from one end of the bay to the other. There was no movement in the air and the water was smooth as glass. Pure magic!