Too hot for an orgy

Summer was supposed to be a Bacchian parade of play dates with all those school friends who had been, like us, too busy during the year. Trips to the beach, hikes, canoe paddles galore. Instead, here we are in September and I'm just remembering that community that was so central the last day of school.

Turns out we didn't need an orgy. Didn't feel called to a serial-monogamous set of sweaty rolls in the sand. Turns out we just needed some time with us.

School friendships don't have to be worked over the summer. Quite the opposite, in fact. They'd been cooking all year, and by June they'd been hard-boiling for a while, rattling the pot lids and bubbling over into the first splashes of bullying, break-ups and friend-fatigue. Kids and parents just needed a break from it all. Galen especially needed a break from the social pressures he was increasingly facing, a break from having to defend himself or question himself or wonder on the morning bike ride to school where his standing would be this day.

We watched him slowly unwind, rediscover himself, regain confidence and Joy in his beautiful core person. He still has a few worries about person X or situation Y walking into school next week, but mostly he's bringing a strong self and sense of discovery that resurfaced over a summer of farming, camping, playing in the woods, long long creative hours with his brother, long long together hours with his parents. Time to just be a 7-year-old, playing and dreaming and drifting.

For me too, it's been a frustrating and freeing visitor-full playtime of a summer that's been glorious, and has me ready for fall. Ready for regular "good-morning's" with other parents, a 9-11:45 childless routine, lists and rhythms and shorter days and slow movement. Time to look at that list of what i'm here to do and figure out which parts of that vision it's time to focus in on.

Father and sons feeling rejuvenated, re-centred and ready to re-engage with the world from a renewed place of strength. What more could we ask of a summer?