One Final Summer Nature Experience

Well, folks, we here at Casa WestEnders have certainly lived out a successful, enjoyable, jam-packed Summer of Fun...but I'm starting to pick up unmistakable signs that it's nearly time for the school year to get underway. How do I know this so definitively? First of all, I'm growing weary of running Mom's Diner and feeding the Bottomless-Pit Brothers every few hours of every day. Secondly, the easygoing camaraderie and cooperation that marked the early days of vacation have given way to late-season button-pushing and pointless roundabout bickering. ("I didn't do anything!" "Yes, you did!" ad nauseum.) Third, I believe we may have reached the point of Togetherness Overload...the exact moment of saturation happened to have been reached on Monday morning, when we went to the Library for our last set of books to get us through until September. I pulled the car into one of the few shady spots in the parking lot, to hearty groans of, "But it's so FAR from the door!" (Yeah, they've got End-of-August Fatigue, alright!) I dismissed their complaints with a firm, "You're young and strong, you'll be fine!" To which Derek instantly responded, "We're just worried about you, Mom!" Excuse me? "I'm not old and fragile!" I retorted. So Riley chimed in, with his best placating tone, "Well, not old..." Aww, thanks, honey...wait, does that mean I'm supposed to be frail now?

Fortunately, our Last Hurrah of the week-before-school involved a nice long walk on the Capital Crescent Trail, so I could prove to my darling sons that I'm not quite ready for a cane and a big glass of Geritol...just yet. The Weather Gods have been looking favorably on us the past few days, with sunny skies, next-to-no humidity, and temperatures in the low 80s. In fact, first thing in the morning Derek weaved his way downstairs wrapped tightly in his fleece throw-blanket, complaining that his toes were cold and asking me to "turn up the thermostat." (Um, dude, the windows are open and it's 72 degrees in the house....ever heard of socks?) So conditions were absolutely stellar for our Bethesda excursion. We parked at the trailhead and began strolling through the shady trees on the 2-lane, paved path. Funny--before we went, I did have to talk up this particular outing, because it sounded too tame to my Appalacian Trail-seasoned hikers! Riley put it quite succinctly: "We don't like walking on pavement...it's BORING!" Okay, I admit it was a much easier trek than our usual rocky, hilly, dirt-packed path; however, it was an exceptionally pleasant 3-mile walk-in-the-park on a stunningly gorgeous late-August weekday. (We could have made it even further--if I'd packed provisions, of course!) When we finished, we still had enough energy to amble around the streets of Bethesda, peering into cute little shops...and yes, having a bite to eat. Then, relaxed and refreshed from our Nature Interlude, we drove back home. I mention this mundane little detail only because while we were in the car on Georgia Avenue, we apparently missed an earthquake. Yep, magnitude 5.9, centered in Virginia, and I guess we're an awesome commercial for Subaru, because we felt nothing at all! (Didn't even know it happened until I saw the Facebook freak-outs! And incidentally, not one thing in our house had moved--thank goodness.)

I'd venture to say that's quite enough excitement to conclude our Summer! From here on in--until next Monday--our ambitious plan includes long periods of peaceful rest...punctuated of course by Snack Breaks!