Summer came to an end at approximately five pm on Sunday night.

At five pm on Sunday night, I was sauteeing squash ribbons (that four out of four children would not eat) and flipping cheese quesadillas (that two out of four children would not eat) while hollering at the boys to clean their room and listening to the firstborn debate first-day-of-school outfits.

I was mentally prepping school lunches, signing an emergency-contact form for the oldest, and telling the youngest that now was not a good time for playing in the sink.

The youngest threw herself across the floor while I two-stepped toward the dinner plates.

And there, at utter loose ends in my kitchen, is when I knew summer was over.

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Summer may be chaotic and intense, but in summer there is less pressure to chase down every last loose end.

Did we eat popcorn for dinner instead of vegetables? Well, it’s summer. Tomorrow we shall raid the garden.

Did the five-year-old hop into bed with dirty feet? Well, maybe we’ll wash off with a visit to the creek tomorrow.

In Fall, we remember the calendar and the budget and the email inbox.

In Fall, the overgrown garden looks sad rather than abundant. In Fall, the baby’s hair is plastered to her forehead with applesauce instead of sweet baby sweat.

In Summer, loose ends twine like pea vines on lattice. They tempt us to stay up past our bedtimes. They draw us on to look deeply at sunsets and the freckles on our loved one’s nose.

In Fall, loose ends scatter themselves like beads from a broken necklace. We scramble and cry, but we know we will never find them all. We will never manage to gather the details. We will fail to live up to at least a few of our responsibilities.

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I long for my own little chore chart. With three neat rows and a gold star for each grid.

But there are no gold stars waiting for me at the end of my email inbox. No gold stars when I have packed three healthy, nut-free, school-approved snacks.

So here is a reminder – for me, for you – to hold on to summer’s lessons.

Let us remember where the gold stars live.

They live in sunsets and freckles.

They live at the ends of every loose strand of a young girl’s hair.

They shine in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome them.

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