The End of Summer? Take A Few Mental Pictures!

This morning as I was sitting on the veranda having coffee and reading "The Piano Shop At The Left Bank" (wonderful book by the way), I received through the early morning breeze, the first scent of Autumn. Although just the end of July, I assume that the cool evenings that we have been having are responsible for this "essence of summer's end".

When our children were still in school and we approached the end of summer, a feeling of dread would over come me. My women friends would approach their children's first days back at school as a celebration and a day of great glee. I would force myself to listen to their light sing song voices as they told of how they could not wait until their children were back at school and out from under foot. For these moms it was a time of delight, a moment of reprise, and most of all, it was time to get rid of the children during the day.

It was just the opposite for me. I always looked at the end of summer as the end of the year. My calendar was, and still is, based on the nine months of the school year from September through May. June, July and August were bonus months. The bonus months came to us free of charge, free from schedules, free from late night homework sessions and free from countless car pools. Summer days were always full of fun and they seemed to never end. Our children were up early and in bed late, with a rest in the middle of the day when the sun was the hottest. The end of summer and the beginning of school was not a time for me to celebrate. It was a time for me to reflect on the wonderful memories of the summer so that they could sustain me through the winter.

A very dear friend of mine felt the same way as I did about summer with the children. We were always able to snicker at our other friends and wonder how in the world they could miss the entire point of summer. They were missing so much of life. How could they look at summer as a time of drudgery and a time were their children were just a nuisance? Listening to them worry about the up coming summer months made my friend and I feel as if we were from another planet and we loved it!

One Labor Day weekend as my dear friend and I were sitting at the lake watching our children (all seven of them) swimming and sailing, their tan wet bodies glistening in the sun, she shared with me her acute ability to take mental snap shots. She explained that when there was a moment that she wanted to remember for ever, she took a mental photograph by looking intently at the entire picture. This allowed her to pull the picture out of her memory at any moment. I tried it immediately and I am still able to remember my very first mental photo. I can see the vivid yellow, orange and red autumn colors of the trees surrounding the lake. I can visualize the children jumping off of the raft and into the water. I can still see the colors of their swimsuits contrasting with the bright yellow of their life jackets, and amazingly enough, I can hear their far away voices as they screamed with delight while they experienced one of the last weekends of that summer.

And so....there has been no blog writing this summer. We have filled our summer to capacity. Our days have been controlled by whimsical spur of the moment activities. Our weeks have been filled with long walks to the lake, messy ice cream cones, Sunday morning men's tennis, Monday night music at the park, picnics, house guests, outdoor special events, and gardening in the country. Putting pen to paper or fingers to computer key boards take precious moments out of these warm sunny days. During the summer we turn Three Stories into a resort and we enjoy a long three month sabbatical. We come and go with the excitement of sight seers on a European vacation. We eat our meals on verandas, porches and in courtyards, and on cool evenings we open windows and turn our bedrooms into breezy sleeping porches. Summer passes too quickly, winter lasts too long, and life is always too short, but we are sure to find our individual precious moments.

And so...with the first scent of Fall in the air, I have a wake up call. I activate my mental camera and I snap the best photos possible during these last weeks of summer. I won't forget to add the smells and capture all of the colors. I will etch the pictures permanently in my mind so that these memories are with me forever. Try it!!

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day from Three Stories at

Valhalla

Our apologies to the Janzen Family

of course the children will make a playground out of anything

the Three Stories minus 1

Music from the third floor

Last evening when my husband and I were watching a movie, we heard this wonderful music coming from the third floor. We are quite used to violin and piano practices coming from floor one, but last night we were taken aback by the beautiful trombone music floating down from above. It turned out that our son-in-law was practicing. We had to stop watching our movie and listen for awhile.

My husband and I always stop what we are doing for a moment when we hear music rehearsals. We cherish those special interactions with our children and grand children. And when our third floor grand children are dancing, we can almost visualize what is going on right above us.

Both my husband and I agree that little boys should be exposed regularly to the arts. Dance and music lessons are not just for little girls. Music and Dance soften the masculine desire for the little boys to always want to become Super Heroes. We have very active little super heroes on the first and third floor, but I love it when there is music playing and the little boys pick up their swords and sabers and dance elegantly around the house.

So, music from above or below is just wonderful. Hopefully soon, all of our musicians will get together for a Wednesday night of entertainment.

Wednesday night dinner

Last evening our Wednesday night dinner menu was:

Herb encrusted Delmanico beef roast
Basmati rice,
Broccoli,
Olive oil and lemon salad
Strawberry trifle for dessert

But...what I really wanted to write about was the wonderful behavior of the three little boys at the dinner table. All three of the boys were amazing at dinner last evening.. They were quiet, they ate everything on their plates and they actually had a little discussion going on with each other during dinner. I publish the menu for one reason. The food was not what children normally love to eat, yet they ate it quietly and without any complaints. I do not expect our five little grandchildren to be perfect at the table, in fact I beileve that we are very generous with the children's behavior. The adults all put up with a certain amount of noise, and sometimes at least one of the five little children is crying. Last night was magical for me. I do not think that any of the other adults noticed, but I certainly did.

As I was putting on dinner music and setting the table last evening, I was all of a sudden aware of how beautiful everything is on Wednesday nights. Most people only entertain this way on holidays, but for our family it is a holiday once a week. Although our one and two year old baby girls are not quite ready for our beautiful china, the little boys have been eating on it for quite a while. If one of the dishes happens to break, it will not bother me. The beauty that the place settings add to the table is joy beyond words. Maybe the little boys noticed.

The candles are also very important in rounding out our table settings. My sister and I grew up eating dinner every evening in the dining room by candle light. My father wanted to come home from work and have a formal dinner every night. Candles soften the light, get rid of the glare and add an aura of loveliness. Maybe the candles had something to do with the quietness at the table last evening.

The background music also plays an important part in our dining experience. We have tried all types of music, but for the most part, classical music sets a very nice backgound for conversations. Everyone is able to speak quietly and be heard. So, with the lovely place settings, the candles, and the music, last evening I recognized that this is something out of the ordinary for many families. Yet our five little grandchildren have been sitting at our Wednesday night tables since they were born.

I am not exactly certain what contributed to the wonderful behavior of the little boys at last evening's dinner table. It may have been the music or the candles. It may have been that the boys were tired or very hungry. It may have just been a good day for all three of them. What I really think is happening is that they are growing used to our more formal evenings and they are learning to sit quietly once in a while on Wednesday nights and enjoy the magic.

Whatever the reason, I think that our Wednesday evenings accomplish many things for our family and I expect that we will continue this tradition for many years to come. And who knows? The next generation may continue these special dinner parties for their children and grand children.

Urban Family, Country Day

It's me again. Having written five of the last six entries, I'm starting to feel like I'm talking to myself.

We took a trip to the country yesterday for a lazy afternoon of horseback riding. It was windy but warm and the boys had so much fun. Just look at this smile!

Both boys had to go on two different times because they were having so much fun. Look at how confident Smarty Marty looks in the saddle! He was even riding with a swagger just like a true cowboy!

Despite being city folk, the kids didn't seem to have any trouble adjusting. Even Meryl got a chance to sit up on the horse. For the most part, however, she was happy just watching everyone and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

By the time we left, Marty knew the names of all of the horses in the ring and was trying to figure out how to make his horse go faster. Mike was a little less daring, but he spent as much time as they would let him in the saddle enjoying the lazy walk around the track. We brought carrots too, and after everyone was done riding, we spent some time in the stables feeding them.


When we finally made it home, everyone was sound asleep. We carried them in the house and put them to bed, and they didn't wake up until morning. We'll have to plan another country weekend like this sometime soon. Maybe we'll go out to the nursery next weekend to start our vegetable garden!



Meg

We spent the entire day in the yard, sweeping and picking up the debris that accumulated over this very long winter. Despite having cleaned out all the leaves more than once last fall, it seems that many of them found their way back again. Our courtyard felt like I was walking on the forest floor. We still have quite a bit of work left to do, but most of the dirty work is done. The planting and detailing is the fun part.

We celebrated the long working day with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and then topped it all off with carryout. (Carryout is Urban Chic.) The kids were great and played in the sandbox or on the swing set for most of the day. No big bumps or bruises and all of the children are up to date on their tetanus shots. They spent almost the entire day outside and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

I wish I could say I took some great pictures but I didn't get a single one. We must have been too busy working. I could kick myself for not getting the "before" pictures of a dumpy old table that we restored into a masterpiece. Instead, here are the pictures of last year's garden taken shortly before Meryl's first birthday in June. After another week or two of work, I'll take some of this year's garden and see how far we've come.

Here's a cute picture of the back patio and the cute little circus tent that Nons (Jill) bought for the grandchildren.


Here's one of the courtyard. It's going to be ten times cuter this year. Our new table and the wrought iron settee will be perfect.


And here's one last picture of the kids' cute little playhouse. A tiny cottage in the woods, right in the middle of the city!

So girls, do you think we can do better this year?

Maggie

Mothers' Day

There is no better brunch than one that's only a flight of stairs (or two) away. The orange juice with added calcium made tasty and smart Mimosas, don't you agree? Now that's an idea...Mimosas for Moms. Momosas? Maybe we could market that? "What a way to start your day! (Hiccough!)" It's the new Vitameatavegamin. Who needs Zoloft? Just have a Momosa, hail the cab, and wave to the kids as they skip into school. It's definitely Urban Chic.

Well, the kids were great, there was enough food, and I finally got to unload that miserable keyboard that plays the Star Wars theme song. What more could a mother hope for?

Thank you all for such a terrific Mothers' day!

Meg