The End of a Child's Summer

Last weekend we went to the beach like we normally do, but now that I am working at a school, this visit took on a totally different meaning. The calendar may say that Summer is still upon us but for a child the approach of the return to school signals the unofficial end of Summer as they officially know it. As usual click each photo for a better view.



I like to visit the beach in the cool of the evening when the Florida sun is not so oppressive and the beach itself is a lot less crowded. There were still a few kids playing around. For them it was another fun day in a long list of fun days at the beach.

Vilano Beach allows dogs on the beach after 6pm and as you can see, Sunny-Girl was doing her part to look around. She really liked playing in the water as kids came up to pet her. There were belly rubs up and down the beach.

The beach at night takes on a whole new perspective. There is less to distract you, and so the sounds around you, like the lap of each wave, become important. I saw this young girl gazing off into the distance and this vision was what prompted the thoughts of return to school. As I sat there watching her, I had to wonder what thoughts were going through her head that would cause her to be so deep in thought?

It was then that it came to me: the march of each new day brings a child one day closer to the end of the carefree, unstructured, days of Summer. A sad thought, but the piper must be paid. And so, as we watched the slow rise of the moon behind overhanging clouds I gave a salute to the end of a child's Summer.