Labor Day! No matter what the weatherman says, this is the official end of summer and of that otherness which we all adopt, both mentally and physically. My apartment complex closes its outdoor pool. I gather up the detritus of my summer's activities, and the fall mode begins. In fact, I started early and, as I look at both the calendar and the remaining bits of my summer's activities, I wonder—did I really do all that?

I have travel printouts that assure me I took 11 different airplanes, multiple interstate buses and commuter trains (one trip alone merited seven different modes of transportation to get from here to there). No, I did not have a "staycation" as so many people did, enjoying the blessings of home as a response to the doubtful joys of travel.

I was on the road for 51 days in the past three months and I took my road mind with me. There is always something new to see and so to learn. I saw soybeans growing in Kentucky, admired roses in Texas, marveled at a herd of yaks in Colorado as well as the June snow of the Rockies beyond them, got caught in a cloudburst in New Jersey that flooded both the streets and my luggage, rode in a speedboat towing young water skiers on Lake Champlain... Yes, all this was a by-product of the retreats and workshops I gave across the country, and I learned as I went.

I learned from the Trappist monk with whom I shared a bread and cheese supper as well as from the young camper who told me that her goal for that week was not to come in last in the horseback riding competition. Her eyes glowed as she breathed: "It would be wonderful to be fourth this year. I know I'm not good enough for 2nd or 3rd." What an honest child!

So, whether I was leading a retreat for several dozen very senior nuns or sharing a weekend of camp life before a Sunday worship service at which I was to speak, I was learning, being taught even as I was teaching.

In some many ways, this was a very rewarding summer, above all, the week I spent, as I always do, at school, deepening and increasing my Bible knowledge by contact with four great teachers at a scripture institute.

Now, tossing airplane seating arrangements into the trash, stowing the swimming gear for another year, turning over a new month on the calendar, I am ready for a new learning year which is waiting right outside the door. I can hardly wait to step into this year's unknown.