These hot days of August give no indication that school is going to be starting up before we know it. Just when we’ve gotten into the rhythm of enjoying fewer cars on neighborhood streets between the hours of 7:15 a.m. and 8 a.m., at the end of the month traffic will back up again as parents whisk their children to local elementary, middle and senior high schools.

This issue of the CV Weekly helps prepare parents of school-aged children for back to school. Beginning on page 12, you will find information on local schools, places to buy uniforms, books and other necessities, and discover some words of wisdom on the importance of education (maybe those would be better shared with your resistant child).

Enjoy these last school-free days – the morning rush will be here before you know it.

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Speaking of the end of summer, it has really been a busy one in our household. We kicked the season off with a trip to Florida – which somewhat helped prepare us for the icky humidity we’re experiencing here now.

We returned just in time for the July 3 Hot Rods and Cool Classics Car Show on Honolulu Avenue in the Montrose Shopping Park, then the 4th of July grand carnival and fireworks display at La Crescenta Elementary School.

Mid-July I was accepting an empowerment award from Women In Business, jumping out of an airplane and then spending a few restful days in Cambria with my best friend.

I absolutely love Cambria. An artists’ retreat, Cambria is nestled among towering pines and the ocean on California’s Central Coast, about a five-hour drive north of Crescenta Valley and just south of Hearst Castle. Summer temperatures are a direct contrast to ours – days there have been in the mid-60s.

My best friend Amy and I left for Cambria on a Thursday morning, putting the top down on the convertible and pulling on our sunglasses.

I’ve known Amy since I was 14 years old – about 15 years now.

Just kidding.

Amy and I go back – gulp – 37 years! We met in junior high school when she had recently moved to California from New York. We’ve been close ever since.

Traveling with an old friend (not to be confused with a friend that is old) is a great opportunity to revisit shared memories. Amy and I can talk about mutual school friends, activities we took part in, family events that we enjoyed. Especially with no family of mine living locally, Amy is my best connection to the past.

As many of you know, I didn’t grow up here, but over the hill in Sun Valley. I didn’t attend or graduate from Crescenta Valley High School. My husband Steve and all four sons, however, did. Just this week on Facebook a new site was launched: Growing up in La Crescenta/La Canada, California in the 70’s and 80’s.

This is a fun site that gives a portal into the shared pasts of CVHS graduates. Steve, who graduated in 1977, signed up and has had a good time reconnecting with friends from his high school days.

Sort of like having his own Amy.

  robin goldsworthy