We’ll Always Have Summer.

And so the Bradley clan says goodbye to another summer, that perennial nest of adventure and wonderment and limitless bliss.

To the 11,000 miles of work truck grind, whittled away by audiobooks and podcasts and daydreams under the wide open desert sky;

The movies and the pool days and the barbecues, long nights with the office window open, freshly mowed grass, tank tops and gym shorts;

The birthdays, the 4th, the camping and the memories of summers past;

Reflecting on the few bad years, and the many good ones, liberated from the classroom, wandering the town at midnight, crashing a friend’s house, a short-lived romance killed by September, and the promise that the next year would be even better;

Recalling that final August alone, before securing Schaara in my life, and our journey since, passing on the zeal to our children, who yet will have many summers packed to the gills with that bursting-of-the-heart that comes with hot afternoons and boisterous nights;

Yes, fare thee well summer, we loved you plenty, and though the coming Autumn has venced you once more, we will see you again.

Thank you for always being there.