Random Ramblings - Bittersweet Good-byes

Bittersweet Good-byes L.V. Gaudet © September 24, 209 Good-byes are ever bittersweet, greeted with a mixture of regret and anticipation. Good-byes mean things coming to an end, but also are the bringer’s of the new, and change is always a little bit frightening and exhilarating all at once. That time of year has come again for those of us in central Canada and our close southern neighbors. It is time to begin closing up the cottages, and packing away the campers and tents. Put away the boats, coolers, and sleeping bags. Say good-bye to the beaches and summer friends from afar, casual strolls along campground paths and roads, and lazy summertime afternoons. It is time to bid a fair farewell to all of our summertime activities, gardens, lawnmowers, and patio sets. So long summer, with all the good and the not so good things like those pesky mosquitoes. While we say good-bye with a feeling of regret that it is over, we also look ahead at the things to come. The kids are in school and the leaves are starting to turn. The stores have been taken over by ghouls, witches, and all manner of frightening monsters that make us giggle as we stare into their ugly visages. Soon the flowery décor of household yards will be replaced by the morbid scenes of grotesque creatures and eerie gravestones. Before we know it this will all be replaced by the merry tickling of sleigh bells, colored lights, and gaudily happy decorations as families celebrate their winter festivities. The screams of children happily tobogganing down slippery snow-covered slopes will echo in the crisp cold air. With this bittersweet good-bye, I also say hello to the coming months where silent days will no longer be as common as the elusive dodo bird. In the coming days and months will be the excitements of watching my kids learn the simple tasks most of us take for granted, reading, printing, and simple math among them. My house will become tidier, there will be time for the de-cluttering of dark corners, and my home will become a more harmonious place. And the best part of this sad parting, as we see summer off, will be the time I will at last have to concentrate on my writing. And again, all too soon, will be another bittersweet saying good-bye as winter becomes a memory, the schools release their eager captives, and we say hello again to the wonderful rambunctiousness of summer.