September Evening

I was missing from blogworld this past week as I try and adjust to my new schedule. My hope is that I'll be able to post once or twice a week. However, I'm trying to schedule writing into the little free time that I now have. Blogging may have to take backseat for a while. The only writing I was able to do last week was this piece below. I thought I'd share it with you.

Tonight is one of the last summer-like evenings of the season. The sun was strong and hot on this September day, but cool days and chilly evenings return later this week. This will be my last night to sit on the front steps and enjoy the sights and sounds of a warm summer evening. I sit comfortably without a sweatshirt, *my feet resting in flip flops.

The difference from my other front stoop observations is that I’m sitting in the dark, though it’s only 7:30pm. I’m jotting down my reflections, not even sure if I’ll be able to decipher my writing in the light. But my senses are heightened and I’m determined to capture and absorb these remainders of summer. Perhaps they'll sustain me through the long, bitter cold months of winter.

It’s peaceful but by no means quiet. A chorus of various insects is performing tonight. I’m unsure of their names, and so I call them all crickets. Layers of sounds blend together: a rhythmic background melody, a back and forth of louder chirps, repetitive clicking insects. Their cadence soothes my thoughts, helps me to unwind, releases the tension from work, school, and another season of chaotic responsibilities.

I’m hidden in the evening shade, an invisible observer. A lone jogger keeps a slow pace on the street across from me. Headlights shine on the black pavement, cutting through the dark for a brief second as they drive past. A car slows across from where my street and the other connects, and my neighbor pulls into his driveway. I watch his rear lights as their red glow is extinguished. A person exits the driver’s side of the vehicle first, then another from the passenger’s side. Only their silhouettes are visible. One thin boyish figure tosses the jingling keys to the larger figure. Derek can drive? Wasn’t he just playing Pokemon with my son on their Game Boys on this very same porch?

Although I can't feel it, there is a gentle breeze. Against the twilight blue sky, the top of a large dark mass, which I know to be a maple in the daylight, sways slowly. A flag hanging in front of another neighbor's house gently flutters back and forth. Most likely hung to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

I know it's getting late. My youngest needs to get ready for bed. And yet leaving these steps means leaving summer behind and I'm not ready to let go - just a few more minutes. I'm glad I had one more night to say goodbye to my favorite season of the year.

*Flip flops were not the best choice of footwear on a muggy evening. The only thing I won't miss about the summer...MOSQUITOES! I got four bites!