Face it, it's been a long hot summer. Things don't seem quite right. Bad things have been happening to people i care about . Things just don't seem quite right. Don't get me wrong there have been some pleasant surprises, a visit from a dear friend we hadn't seen in almost ten years and a nice visit with some old friends in VA. but i just have a sense of unease that i can't shake; big things like the oil spill in the gulf and little things like the hair salon we've been going to for the past twenty years closing on a dime. i feel as though nothing is stable anymore. When i was a kid, summers were the same every year. They began with the fourth of July (Memorial Day was spring in RI). It didn't get hot until mid July the Red Sox never won the world series BUT you could see a game for five dollars. School was OVER no one went to summer school or Bible School or Day Camp we were home going to the city pool or in the sprinkler and every night at six the ice cream man came by and we played in the street until the street lights came on. And we knew the summer was winding down when we sat at St. Bart's fireworks in late August. Father Mario was the priest, the fireworks were the same every year - we even sat in the same spot and then it was back to school; with the same clothes, kids, teachers and crossing guards. Things are just so different now. People move constantly, kids change schools nothing seems stable AND bad things happen. Summer is still my favorite time of the year even though it's so different BUT the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas ( what we Catholics call Advent) is quickly becoming my favorite season. Maybe because there is a REASON for that season. I don't like the weather but that season seems to be on stable thing left.