A Last Hurrah

She says:
Can you believe it? Summer is winding down and soon the kids will be back at school and the routines will be back in force. Where did it all go, and why is it that time – especially summertime – passes quicker when you get older?

We have been lucky enough to have Chloae with us this month, and that has made things more summery. Having a young person around reminds you of the joys of summer, I think – they are experts at loafing around, and that is what we all want to do in the heat! But seriously, it has been great to have her here not just to catch up around the dinner table but also because we have done some fun stuff…

Last night, for example, we savoured homemade burgers and yam fries on the deck and then we went mini-golfing. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages. I haven’t had people laugh at me like that in a while either, but that was okay too. We all had a great time, we enjoyed some fresh air and I don’t think it was too embarrassing for her as a family activity (always an important consideration for teenagers, of course.)

The night before that, we had a quick dinner of blackened snapper with garden salad and then went to “Hairspray”. Since we are all dance fans, this movie was an obvious choice, and needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed it. Chloae sang through most of it, sighed at all the cute guys, and then sang all the way home in the car too. Ah, do I remember those years…

This weekend we are going camping again (you may remember we wrote about our last trip and said we wanted to get out at least once more this year). Since this is our last outing, we are stepping the cuisine up a notch and cooking a leg of lamb. I admire the fact that Chloae is game to “rough it” when she is a girl who values the time it takes to accessorize an outfit and likes to make sure she looks good before we leave the house. She is a city girl but she is a well-rounded one! (And I can tell you, she is a good sport about all the teasing she gets, too, which I think is an admirable trait.)

So, hopefully you will be able to get one last hurrah to celebrate summer too in the coming week. Take a walk on the beach while it is still warm, linger in your garden while you have the time to just soak it in, or maybe just sit on the deck and watch the world go by… before you are part of the ones that are “passing by” again!

Chloae goes back to the city next week and we will go back to our more regular routine, but I know we will all have some great memories we shared to add to our list, for those dreary winter days when we need a bit of a lift. Thanks Magoo, for a great summer!

He says:
I took some time off this summer so that Chloae and I could hang out, and she also worked with me a little bit. I don’t think she will become a chef, but it was nice that she could see what my work is like.

Quality time is important, and often it doesn’t have to be some special activity – it could just be “hanging out.” I have learned many things from my daughter this past summer -one of the things I was pleased to learn was that Chloae has become an adventurous eater, so that is why I am cooking a leg of lamb for us this weekend. I have also learned that many of her meals back home are eaten on the couch. At my house we value our kitchen table as the place to meet after a day and talk about life, food, problems and of course the teenager’s list of chores. (Another thing I have learned from Chloae this summer is that she now buys her own underwear, it’s no longer cool for her dad to buy it at Walmart!) Kids grow up way to fast so sit down with them now, because one day they will choose to sit with others than you.

GO check out the barbecue link off this page - I have a simple leg of lamb recipe for you this week.

Happy camping!

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.