Sweet Summer

Impromptu summer excursions can be the best sorts.

Late July Sunday, and I had only just left the Mothership the evening before, after spending time with the family in Queens. The day was to be easy and breezy and lazy.

But then, a call from Mother Hen. "Your dad wants to go somewhere. Otherwise, he'll just get bored and take a nap."

Papa Rooster is 86. In theory, the long passage of time happens slowly, imperceptibly. But every now and again, there are these seemingly small things that are quiet, yet cause the proverbial alarm sirens to go off and the lights to flash. At dinner, he eats not quite half of what he used to eat regularly. Granted, he snacks. But he has always snacked. The caloric intake can't be enough to maintain his body mass, let alone to build new muscle. Is that how dying begins? The body starts to digest itself and break down? And the napping. I'm a small child, napping helps a child to grow. In an older person, is it mere maintenance? Or is it a symptom of the decreased nutritional intake? I don't know. But I don't like it; it is unsettling.

And at the same time, I know it's seeing these changes that spurred me, in large part, to leave demanding BigLaw, for a saner professional experience. And that means I can pivot on a Sunday without worrying what work may loom over the weekend.

And so I tapped into my social media file of places to explore nearby, and found the easy "hike" at Croton Gorge Park. The weather was lovely for a drive upstate, and for a relatively easy walk to chase waterfalls and rainbows and have a small adventure with the old folks. (Mother Hen, with her bum knee, made her way gingerly, slowly but steadily, down the inclining wide trail. She is in many ways less evidently elderly than Papa Rooster - she has the advantage of a decade of greater youth on him - but she does have her own challenges.)

Vowing not to let another Summer pass wondering whatever happened to it. And happy to treat the parentals to yogurt and ices and frozen treats while I can.

[Completed August 25, 2023.]