Gone are the days of me, slathered with sunscreen, pulling a rolling cooler filled with tea and grapes and carrots. Gone are the days of weathered novels read through smudged sunglasses while pausing to talk to every neighbor. Gone are the days of coaxing children off diving boards, cheering deep end swimming, and battling wasps on the way to the ice cream truck.
All finally old enough to sign into the pool without a parent, my daughters depart with their own friends just as I did that summer after 5th grade.
And I stand in the kitchen and consider this new era of my life.