The End of Summer

“Summertime and the living is easy.”
“Summertime”-Ella Fitzgerald

Greetings folks. This summer has been a remarkable summer; definitely one of my best to date. Initially I didn’t know what I would do with myself having the entire summer off. I actually like working. Not all day every day, but most of the day, most days. Plus, what good does having the entire summer off do if you don’t have racks on racks on racks to enjoy it with? I do well for myself, but not well enough to sail around the world or go back-packing across Europe. That’s not to say that I didn’t travel and thoroughly enjoy myself, because I certainly did.

This summer saw trips to my second home in Chicago, where I got to reconnect with my former co-workers who I refer to as family. It also gave me an opportunity for me to introduce them to my fiancé. While we were in town, my fiancé had a lot of friends in town so we decided to have a gathering to celebrate our engagement. It was nothing fancy just friends mingling with friends and celebrating our pending nuptials. But we had a blast getting it in, in the “Second City.”

After leaving Chicago I decided to spend the rest of my summer in D.C. There wasn’t anything tying me to Miami that I couldn’t do in D.C. I viewed it as an opportunity to catch up with old friends, get away and spend some quality time with my fiancé. I must say that of all the stops I made this summer, D.C. was the best.

I also had the opportunity to spend some time in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It’s a gorgeous place and I encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to definitely take it. It’s like a beach town meets Orlando. Plenty of stuff to do on the beach, by the pool, or you can shop and sightsee. My fiancé and I went down there to visit with her mom and grandmother and we thoroughly enjoyed our time away from the grind and can’t wait to get back.

We also took a trip to Detroit. Now I know what you’re thinking what the hell is in Detroit? First of all, my fiancé is from Detroit. She was born and raised in the D. Secondly, we were invited to a beautiful wedding of one her childhood friends, and it’s not like we really need an excuse to travel. Of course we hopped on a plane and headed to Detroit. I must have met 50 or so people whom I had only heard about. Because these people are near and dear to her heart, she wanted to make sure I was able to meet these people. The wedding was beautiful and definitely gave us something to strive for in planning ours. The people I met were all a pleasure and hopefully we won’t have to wait until next year to see them again.

The summer ended for me with our Miami engagement party. All of the important people on my side of the aisle have already met my fiancé and signed off on the union. All of the important people on her side of the aisle have met me and from what I have been told, I’ve been given the thumbs up as well. However, none of the important people in our lives had met each other. So instead of doing something huge and extravagant, we opted for something smaller and more intimate to give our family and friends an opportunity to mix, mingle and get to know each other. We had a great time getting to know each other over some great food and drinks. I can happily say there were no acts of violence and the families seem to be getting along very well. (AMEN!) We raised our glasses, toasted to us, our love and our pending union. Love you babe!

Aside from the engagement party, the weekend was filled with countless meetings, conference calls and running around to give us an opportunity to get some wedding stuff done before we retreat to our corners of the world and get back to work.

While it’s sad to see the summer go, I know that it must, because all good things must come to an end. Even the “Watch the Throne” album and the movie “The Godfather” eventually fade to black. What I’ll take with me are the memories and the moments, which will fuel my anticipation for next summer. Next summer won’t feature as much travelling as this summer as we’ll be much closer to our wedding, which makes this summer even more special. But don’t worry about me, I have the fall and all the wonderful joys it brings (FOOTBALL) to cushion my fall from heaven.

As I trade my boat shoes in for dress shoes and my t-shirts for dress shirts, I do so with trepidation, but with much anticipation of what the upcoming year will bring. Thanks for reading. Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!