Friday, September 2, 2016

Summertime

"Summertime"

Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good -lookin'
So hush little baby, Don't you cry

One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky
But til that morning, there aint nothing' can harm you
With Daddy and Mammy standin by

Lyrics Source


"Summertime"  is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.   The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based.  A month or so ago DH and I had the privilege of attending a local musical festival production of the opera Porgy and Bess, performed with a full orchestra as originally written by George Gershwin. The story is somewhat sad, dealing with problems of poverty, racial injustice, drug abuse, and such, but the the music was wonderful, and we had an enjoyable evening together enjoying the music and each other's company.


This past summer has been quite busy with work and a plethora of family weddings, including the wedding of DS1 and our beautiful new daughter in law.   All of our children were able to be home for the wedding, and the kids pretty much planned and carried out all of the festivities themselves, so it wasn't really stressful, but it was a very busy time with everyone coming and going.  . . . . And then before we knew it, they had all returned to their various homes and things are pretty quiet around here again. 

 There is always plenty to do, with work and taking care of the house and the yards and gardens, but I have been particularly enjoying these late summer evenings this year.  I'm trying to take at least an hour or two most evenings to just putter around the yard and the garden and enjoy the cooler weather, maybe even laying back on the grass and watching the sun set.  This time of year has usually been quite hectic with back to school activities right and left, but now with an empty nest and several more weeks of daylight savings time . . . I am truly happy to be able to take time to relish and enjoy the little things: