New Beginnings

Even though summer isn't officially over until later on in the month, Labour Day for me has always marked the end of summer, more to the point, the beginning of a new year.

Before my husband Dick retired he was a school teacher. After we had the girls and they were school age, Labour Day really marked an ending of a year.

Summer's gone. No more summer nights of kids playing out on the block with their friends until darkness fell and parents started beckoning them home. Structure must return --in summer there were no routines to speak of except for making your bed and keeping your rooms tidy -- fat chance on that score! No lunches to be packed, no recess snacks to be readied. Who cared how your playclothes looked? No last minute notices, report cards or notes to be signed. No more visits to Playland and the P.N.E. No more camping at Haines Point! Everything that we treasure about summer comes abruptly and rudely to an end on Labour Day. The playhouse with the stained glass window that sits under the shady Bing cherry tree will be abandoned along with the plays in the carport. Summer's gone.

Tomorrow is the start of a brand new year. Our Grandson Cameron begins Grade 2, Kayla begins Grade 1, Claire starts Kindergarten, and Carly goes back to pre-school to become the next graduating class at her pre-school. Tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off, a new year begins. Life becomes an endless round of routine and predictability. A new year begins.