Most people are sad to see summer days end. This year is bittersweet for me.

Although the weather remains hot here in Texas and summer doesn’t officially end until September 22, the last of August still marks summer’s finish. Young people are returning to school and the routine that will dictate their lives for the next nine months.

I am happy that I am not returning to school, and I am glad the summer is winding down… only because I have heat fatigue here in Texas. My flowers and plants do too. They are spent and most of them spindly. They have endured weeks of triple digit temperatures, with little rain. I am eager to unearth many of them and replant for fall.

But I will miss the carefree feeling and joy of summer though. Fall brings a new start and with it greater responsibility. My daughter starts her fall college courses today and just left the house with an arm load of books. I winced inside as she walked out the door, knowing her summer has come to a screeching halt and the weight of school and work is on her shoulders now.

Oh, she will do just fine with the adjustment and responsibility. She’ll come shining through. I think that inner wince was more for me than her… I guess I feel the time she will be here slipping through my fingers. In a few short years she will finish college and pursue a calling as a missionary and be traveling and living abroad, or she may be married.

Our days are short with her, and they are sweet. So I will enjoy them just as I will enjoy the remaining last fruits of summer. Fall and winter is galluping upon our heels, and they will bring their own delights, changes, and sorrows.

But for now I will linger a little longer relishing… the last roses of summer… bittersweet as they may be…