Summer Barbecues and Family Times

I sip hot coffee while barbecue smoke seeps deliciously in through my open deck door. Marco sings along to a plaintive song on Pandora, monitoring the sizzling grill outside in between chopping jalapenos for colorful pico de gallo.

Orange and brown afghan fort walls flap outside on the front lawn, while my daughter and preschool son sprawl across the grass, trying bird calls. A squabble erupts and fades away. Blanket walls tumble and stretch tall again.

Family days feel brief and precious now.

School years start with notebooks stacked high in September, and months that seem to stretch long, full of promise and plans. Suddenly June is here. Notebooks swell with maturing scrawls and math sums; and plastic binders burst with history and literature.

High schooler cleans his room, finishes homework on the Vietnam war, American Literature, and Algebra II, then bikes away to see friends. Our times with him are sweet as well, centering around bike rides, speed scrabble games, late-night talks, and laughter. College beckons in a year.

In between hopping up to mince mounded Vidalia onions and lay out plates, I join you here and type. Now the fire outside burns lower, roasted meat lingers savory on my tongue, and marshmallows call to me.


How are you savoring family and friends this weekend?