Fairfax County schools started yesterday. When the girls were younger, the beginning of school marked the end of summer. Over the last week I watched as young families returned from vacations, as kiddos shot hoops at the end of the cul-de-sac and played flashlight tag after dark, cramming in last-minute bits of fun.

As I watched, I felt in my bones that familiar dread, the pit in the stomach I had as a kid heading back to school, and later as a mom, watching one more summer end. Yes, the children would no longer be underfoot, but I mourned the lack of freedom that entailed.

But yesterday, I was feeling exempt from that dread. It’s still summer. In fact, we’re enjoying a string of lovely lower-humidity days.

The beginning of school no longer signals the end of summer. In fact, summer often follows us through September and well into October. Through no meteorological sleight-of-hand, just a shift in perspective, I’ve gained two more months of my favorite season.