FoodieTots.com

I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels a sense of dread and anxiety when the “back to school” displays appear in stores each summer. With a mid-August birthday, my birthday gift was often a new back-to-school wardrobe. While shopping for fall clothes is still a favorite activity, I still can’t help but panic at the thought of summer winding down as Labor Day approaches.

But then I take a deep breath and remember that fall is my favorite season. Sure, I’ll always wish we had eaten outside more and spent more time at the beach, but in reality, July and August are just too muggy and buggy to spend much time outside around here. Warm temperatures linger into September or October, the humidity fades, and there’s no reason we can’t still picnic and grill well into autumn. In fact, while the Foodie Tot began Pre-K this past week (after turning four last weekend, as pictured above), this is the last year we won’t be dealing with the back-to-school scramble for, well, many years. So why not take advantage of it? Sure, we didn’t make it to the Pacific Northwest this summer, but we are headed to Florida later this month to celebrate my niece’s fifth birthday — and there will be much beach time then.

So rather than lament the time that’s passed, we’re savoring the overlap of seasons. At the farmers market Friday morning, I spotted peaches intermingled with fall’s first Honeycrisp apples and pears. Watermelon and acorn squash side by side. There’s no reason to give up summer just because fall is creeping in.

Here’s my “extended summer” to-do list. What’s on yours?

• make homemade lemonade
• eat outside — on a weeknight
• eat carnitas on homemade tortillas
• picnic by the river — this is something the boy and I used to do when my husband had softball games after work. with the baby, we never got to it this summer.
• watch the sunset at the beach — fortunately my sister lives on the west coast of Florida
• crab picking one last time at Quarterdeck — did you know Chesapeake crabs are in season until Columbus Day? and that fall crabs are meatier?

the Foodie Tot with Nama, Uncle J, and a crab