Summer is coming to an end. The back-to-school sales are in full swing and soon my daily commute will take longer when the school zones reactivate.

We didn’t venture far from home this summer. Earlier this year, we knew we would have to install a new air conditioning system in our home before the sweltering heat of summer arrived. That pretty much ate up any travel plans we might have had, but it made for a much more bearable summer.

Then there was Mom’s surgery in June. I took her to her 6 week follow-up appointment and the doctor gave her a seal of approval. Mom is doing splendidly and is back home. She just hit a milestone birthday – 70. My brothers and their kids took her to dinner and we surprised her afterward with a mariachi band that serenaded her in her front yard. She danced with my brother under the stars surrounded by her grandchildren.

The boys are ready to go back to school and see their friends every day and show off their driving permits. They’ve had their fill of hot, lazy days full of video games, Batman, days at the beach, swimming in the neighborhood pool, and outdoor grilling.

Our boys are growing up. They will be Sophomores in high school next year. Only three more years before they are marching across the stage in their caps and gowns and then driving off to start their independent lives. Have we prepared them? What is left to be done in only three years in the midst of homework, exams, work and sleep?

I tell my husband, “In only three years, it will be just you and me.” He looks at me guardedly from the corner of his eye and asks, “Why do you say that like it’s a threat?” That cracks a big smile on my face. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be with than him.

Here are some glimpses of our summer.