Up to now, we have escaped the hot days typical of an Arkansas August, and have had the mildest summer in our memory.  However, that is changing with highs forecast in the upper 90s this week.

Up early and with only 3 hours’ sleep, I returned to the Village Monday morning.  Kay went for her last chiropractic appointment, and believes it has resolved the pain she had been experiencing in her left foot.  Anxious to do fun stuff, the lack of sleep proved to be too much, so we had a relatively quiet afternoon and evening, staying inside and out of the heat.  Jim and Jackie came over for bridge, and it was fun despite Jim getting horrible hands—the ladies beat us soundly.  He is restarting bridge, and it just doesn’t seem fair to get such lousy hands, but he did well with “the hand that was dealt him.”

Kay was off about mid-morning Tuesday for a “cut and color” and I traveled the short distance to the driving range to hit a few balls.  Rusty and stiff after a few days off, it took a while to get in synch.  We drove to pick Ridge up, stopping in Benton for lunch.  With an intermediate stop at his house to pick up toys, clothes, etc., we picked him up at his daycare about 2:45 PM, and returned to the Village for two days of “fun with grandson” wondering if we had enough vitamins for the next 48 hours.  We played briefly before he announced he wanted to go to the beach; we all changed into beach clothes and spent the next hour and a half at Balboa beach.  With a partial overcast sky and a decent breeze blowing off the lake, it was quite pleasant tossing pebbles into the water and building sand castles, molding crabs and turtles, and dumping water onto them until they dissolved.

Though Kay did a Book Club night Wednesday evening, Wednesday and Thursday were all about Ridge, including lots of beach time and rough-housing.  He had a couple of firsts, such as sleeping in a “big boy” twin bed and “drifting” in Balboa Lake unassisted, except for his PFD, and of his own accord—oh, how important the small things in life are!  We returned him to his parents Thursday afternoon, and though he never once complained, he was glad to be home, to see his mommy and daddy, and play with all his toys.

(NOTE:   On Wednesday morning we met with Brandon Tedder, the prospective builder of our house in Hot Springs Village if and when we sell the other house, and pretty much finalized everything needed to execute a construction contract.  Please say a prayer for us.) 

Friday was spent recovering, and getting back to a routine.  Not having had catfish in some time, we had lunch at the grill at Isabella Golf Club, and enjoyed a great catfish po’ boy sandwich. In the evening, we had drinks and dinner with the Passes, and really enjoyed their company.

Kay ran errands Saturday morning, and spent pool time with Pam at the DeSoto Pool in the afternoon while I played golf with Jim at Cortez.  With temperatures hovering near, but not at, 100°, it didn’t take long to tire, and the golf game showed it.  We stayed in Saturday evening, and I went to bed at 8 PM, tired from lack of sleep caused by stress and a continuing daylong headache.  (NOTE:  Harper and Jenny are still sick, going on 2 weeks now, when Harper began organized daycare in lieu of being taken care of by a nanny; her doctor says she has an immature immune system.  Kaden, our oldest grandchild, was delivered to Arkansas Tech University today to begin the next phase of his life:  college.  He is majoring in mechanical engineering.  He was just slightly older than Ridge [almost 3 years old] when I first met him.  His Sir Donald wishes him nothing but the very best in all things, and that he remembers to be nice to people, to do the right things at the right times, and honor his Christian background; his daddy did a superb job raising him.)

As it is late August, the trees are beginning to slightly change, with some losing their leaves a bit early.  This is always thought provoking as we typically don’t think about the changing colors until late October and early November.  The transition is so gradual that fall just sort of glides in, particularly with the hottest temperatures of the year just now occurring.  Kay and I have had one of the busiest summers of our lives together, and it has flown by.  And, change seems to be a constant with us, mostly self-inflicted—sometimes it feels like life is a speeding merry-go-round that we barely grasp with a handhold, only to get thrown off again, then run as fast as we can, only to grab hold and get thrown off again, etc., and it’s exhausting.  Of course, Kay handles changes, life events, and stress so much better than I, and fortunately provides a much needed stabilizing influence.  Wonder what next week, next month, and next year will bring?