My grandpa hosts an annual golf tournament every Labor Day weekend; this year was his 43rd. Nearly 70 of his closest friends come to town for a late night of boozing and good eats (when I was about eight, I became quite the entrepreneur filling beer cups for a quarter each), the guys (yes, the game is limited to guys only, even in the 21st Century) tee off early Sunday morning, and then most of the golfers and their families come to the house for a picnic-style dinner and chatting.
The Romer Invitational has always been a highlight of the year for my family and its closest friends .. one final big hurrah at the end of summer. It serves as a tangible transition between months of heat and humidity, swimming parties, festivals and fairs and those full of classes, school sports and extracurriculars, football season and crisp autumn air.
This still remains the case for most everyone in my family ... they live within an hour and a half of one another, both of my aunts and uncle have kids in school, and my grandpa attends a lot of sporting events and is kept in the loop by all of his clients. I'm the only one who has moved away from Western Ohio -- first to Virginia and now all the way to Texas (it really feels like an entirely different world).
In Virginia, the air remained warm until mid-September and coats weren't required until October. Down here, August and September are the hottest months of all. People wear shorts, tank tops and flip flops to Friday Night Football (this is in fact a proper noun in Texas). The only chili that sounds at all appealing is chili con queso with tortillas and car air conditioning is still a must. Even Habitat for Humanity halts their build projects. I've been told that seasons really don't exist. Instead, we get 3 weeks of "winter" (ie: 40, sometimes 30, degrees), one week of "spring" and one week of "fall."
In my mind, summer as I've always considered it has ended. Last week, family and friends gathered for a wonderful party, the Buckeyes kicked-off their season with a win and classes resumed at all schools in Houston. I'll keep my flip flops handy and crank up my air conditioning as soon as I step foot in my car, but in my heart of hearts I know the season for Grandpa's Chili and OSU sweatshirts is almost here. I'll miss it dearly this year.
Jes,
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard being away from those family functions. I've missed more than I can count, and I'm only five hours away from most of my family. Having a son and his family now living in TX is a challenge. I'll be out in December. Will you be in Ohio then? Keep me posted on your possible plans to come here this fall. In the meantime, just call your Gramps up and let him know you love him and are thinking of him.