Summer Reading

I’m not sure who, exactly, gets to decide that summer is over.

Is there some guy in a back room at Target who gives a somber nod, and just like that, “back to school” signs get pulled out along with skids filled with pencils and binders?

When do the emails from your child’s school (to remind you that you never finished taking care of registration or never signed the paper in which you pledged to also take a link for the school’s fundraising campaign and call not just your own mechutanim, but also their mechutanim for money) switch from “We hope you are enjoying the summer,” to “As we prepare for a wonderful new school year”?

For us, it’s pretty clear. The words “Rosh Chodesh Elul yihyeh b’yom…” are a fairly strong indicator that seasons — and mindsets — are shifting.