Today the bf called me over to see these gloomy hordes of birds perched on the power lines outside our house. He informed me that they were barn swallows and that they were getting ready to fly south. I couldn't help but think that if they weren't a fitting symbol of Labor Day, then I didn't know what was. What's more, the sky was overcast and there was a distinct chill in the air. Fall was upon us, or as I think of it, the beginning of the end. I know, I know. Lots of people love fall because of the cooler weather, football, and boot season (or so I've heard). But to me it means boring clothes, closing ice cream stands, and turning back the clocks.
On to cheerier things. The bf and I puttered around the house all afternoon, then headed to Ocean City. We had dinner at Jay's Crab Shack on Asbury, then walked the boards, stopping for fudge and Kohr Brothers custard. I also ducked into Atlantic Books for a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife. The bf stumbled upon an awesome book called The Big-Ass Craft Book (love that title), so I got that too as well as a new mystery because it was buy two books, get one free. I was glad we went beacuse the boardwalk is always interesting, full of color and sound. But even here there was no escaping it; fall had begun to do its thing. It was windy, the crowd was thin, and most stores had "Everything 50% Off!" signs in their windows. This depressed me a little, but in a weird way I also felt relieved. All summer long there was this voice in my head urging me to have as much fun as possible. Living mere blocks from the beach didn't help, but only increased this bizarre pressure because it was a reminder that it all should have been so easy. But work, The Tote Trove, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. always seemed to intervene so that the season rolled by leaving most of my summer fun to-do's unchecked. That having been said, the coming of fall, however dismal, has set me free from these expectations. Now that Labor Day is almost over, I feel like the Band-Aid has been ripped off and I can finally get on with it all.
No comments:
Post a Comment