Where did the year go?

We're heading into Fall of 2009. Where did the year go? Even Thomas said a couple weeks back he felt August went by fast. He said we should be doing"boring things" to make it go slower. HAHAHA.
But seriously...aren't children supposed to be OBLIVIOUS to the passage of time? Where are we going wrong with him? If he's feeling time go by fast now, what happens when he's MY age, at 45?
Summers, when I was 9 years old, seemed to drag on forever. And it was packed with ALOT of good times. Not boring at all. Oh well, wasting time here bemoaning the fact that things aren't as they should be. Let me try to fill you all in on what we did this year so far...

Quite frankly after Christmas, it was all about work for me. It's been hard. Bob's still without a job, but home for Thomas and involved with his school, Egremont. He's taken up the harmonica and bass guitar. Has a friend in one of our neighbors, Kevin.
Andrew summered over at BU, working 3 jobs, got free housing for one of them, and enjoyed himself. He turned 21 this year. Barb and I joined him in Boston the week after and took him out for his birthday. It was very nice. I was able to embarrass him with The Cheesecake Factory's rendition of Happy Birthday.
Thomas had a battle with losing weight which we reversed with supplements. Trying to avoid additional medication that could have introduced side effects we didn't need to deal with. He's still a sweetie and a little devil, but I wouldn't trade him for the world.

We took a weeks vacation to the Cape and Boston at the end of July. I loved the beach, but didn't get enough of it, nor relaxation. Next year vow to do it differently.

Still driving the Montana...113,000 and still ticking. Need to put some work into it to get it thru the winter. Should be interesting.

Still living on Marcella, it's a nice apartment. Our landlords are great. We are fond of them.

Tried growing a garden with my sister Sue, but the BLIGHT took out our tomatoes, zucchini, pole beans and other stuff...very wet summer.

Tag saling with Barb every saturday is the highlight of my week. It's like treasure hunting, as I said on Facebook, but people are getting savvy as to what they won't put out on the tables...Damn the Internet! and Antique Roadshow!

Cousin Picnic in August was fun but seemed shorter. Really felt the empty spot where my Aunt Junie should have been. And I couldn't get enough hug time with my Aunt Jan.
Families change, shrink and grow. Roles reinvent themselves as relationships change, people age and distances between us are felt more acutely than they did when we were younger and full of the energy it takes to drive miles to be together. Course, when we were MUCH younger, we didn't have that far to go!

Andrew has found he likes living in Boston. He will probably settle there after graduation next year. It's really hard to let him go be his own person. Distance from me measured in minutes, hours, days, miles. I feel it. But my love is still FIERCE for him. Like a mother bear. THAT will NEVER change.

Well, we're going to a country fair today...hoping to stop time for a day at least. Hoping Thomas will get to see and participate in something new and exciting. Stuff I did with Andrew all the time when he was younger. I shouldn't of taken it for granted then and I won't today, that it'll all go by real fast, Thomas is young now, and won't be forever, I'll soak his energy and wonder, his zest and love, into my very bones and savor what it means to be young and safe. Enjoy his joy. Enjoy today.