Seasonal Shifts

Today in public schools across Broward county in southeast Florida, students go back to class; the same is true for our huge community college.  In public schools, teachers have been reporting for duty to get ready for at least a week.

I work at several different colleges, so I have various schedules--still, there's something exciting about the first day of school, even if I don't have classes starting.

Yesterday my 10 year old nephew, who has one more week of summer, made a list of school supplies.  It's very different from what I remember, when we'd go to a store, buy some notebooks and folders and maybe a Trapper Keeper to keep it all organized.

I had hopes that everyone would be home or out shopping for school supplies--we had plans to go to   Monster Mini Golf--miniature golf played in the "dark" with glow in the dark features. There's also an arcade--come to find out, it, too, was in the purple light.

I liked the idea in theory, but found it a little overwhelming--lots of children, lots of glowing in the dark augmented by steam machines, purple lights, and noise.  There were only 18 holes, so we had to wait a bit for it to be our turn.

I liked the concept:  the Halloween-themed golf.  I'm in the mood for a change of seasons that won't be coming our way for awhile, so it was fun to see the decorations:  someone had great fun painting scenes on the walls and decorating the nooks and crannies around the course.

It reminded me of playing miniature golf at Myrtle Beach when I was a kid--there were barriers and interesting approaches to some of the holes.  I have vague memories of designing my own courses which, of course, were never built, although I always had plans for the back yard.

We had a good time, over all, and it gave us an indoor activity during an intensely hot day.  We came home to eat a bit of supper, watch the Sunday night animated shows on Fox, and one last dip in the pool.

Even though I say I'm ready for a seasonal shift, I'm still not quite ready for summer to end.  This morning, I'll take my sister and nephew to the airport, and then it will feel more real to me, even though the heat will continue, and we can get summer foods year round.  The shift away from summer will accelerate . . .