According to my calendar summer is officially over. Yesterday was Labor Day and we retired our favorite white pants and shoes to the closet. The days of drinking ice cold lemonade and iced tea will be replaced with cool evenings sipping spiced teas and nibbling petite fors on the porch while wishing for the cool yumminess of a cucumber sandwich.

The kids are back in school, the pumpkins are growing and we’re shopping for Halloween costumes. The pools are closed and our shorts will soon be packed away, making way for sensible jeans and sweaters. Yes, summer is over.

Hold on. Just checked my calendar. It’s still summer, despite what Katie Couric told me on the Today show. Summer isn’t over until the Autumnal Equinox on September 21.

So it’s still summer, even though it’s not summer, according to society. We’ve entered the time of year known as Fallmer. Or Autumner. That no man’s land between summer and fall before the coming of winter. Right?

So, what do I do if it’s both summer and not summer? Do I wear shorts with white shoes or not? What if it’s still hot outside?

I’m confused. So, let me check Target and see what they are selling. Hang on . . .

Okay, Target has a clearance on camping equipment. That’s a telltale sign of the end of summer. Of course no one wants to go camping in the fall. It’s too chilly!

But wait. Target’s seasonal aisle is not filled with Christmas lights. So, does that mean that we’ve left summer behind, skipped fall and headed straight for winter? It’s too early to tell.

Hell, I don’t even have a Halloween costume yet! Where has the time gone?

Our Labor Day was mostly nice. We decided to go get ice cream and watch the trains in beautiful downtown Kirkwood. The girls had a great time, but the baby was a little freaked out by the train’s horn. I feel sorry for the engineer, because he was waving at the girls as he blew the horn. He was clearly doing it for their benefit. Matilda waved back. But poor Gertrude crawled up my side and perched on top of my head in a crumpled mass of fear.

She got over it though. In all, I think she enjoyed the train. It was a new sight for her. Something she’s never experienced. We only have about four million things to see before everything is no longer new.

Daddy did get in a little trouble because he let baby play in the dirt. Her little feet were dirty, her hands, her bottom, her hair. But she was happy.

The girls really enjoyed their final day of summer. Now we just have to make it through Halloween (Harry Potter costumes this year) and Gertrude’s first birthday.

Wow. There’s a shock! She’ll be a whole year old in two months. It’s almost too much to comprehend.

A year ago I was in a job I hated. Really hated. Now I have a job I love. Making good money and proving everyone who thought it couldn’t be done wrong, wrong, wrong.

It seems like only yesterday that the little monster arrived all pink and tiny. I’ve been making slide shows on the computer and have been flabbergasted at her growth. A few months ago she was this little lump that couldn’t do anything but eat and fill her diaper. Now she’s almost walking and babbling non-stop. She’s always on the move, investigating and curious. A real little ball of fire.

But don’t tell her it’s actually still summer, unlike I told her yesterday. I don’t think her tiny little brain can comprehend that.

I know my tiny little brain can’t.