September

All the kiddies are back in school now (including Tasha, who was too busy for a better "first day of school" picture than this). I called the bus company and told them to just take us off their list, since Tasha will drive herself pretty much all the time in order to be there for her zero hour class. It turned out the lady who answered the phone at the bus company was Debbie, who drove my kids on the country bus for years - so we had to take a minute to commiserate how old we must be, with the kids being all grown up like this.

But privately, I've been thinking that Rick and I are just coming into the best part. Our kids are just about launched, while some vice presidential candidates and other women my age are just starting out with new infants. Our careers are proceeding at a reasonable pace, and we've reached that point in our marriage where we know each other better than anyone else in the world ever has. We've figured out a lot about where we stand on issues, from philosophy and politics to how we like our eggs cooked.

Maybe September is a metaphor for this point in our lives. Golden days of indian summer, with the hint of an occasional chill in the air. And yet, it's an invigorating season with beautiful colors and rich flavors, full of the rewards for earlier labor. And that's just fine.