It's definitely flown by quickly this year, as does every summer. I feel like I barely blinked, and the summer season passed us by.
All winter (especially here in New England), we beg for warmer weather, and the second it hits 80 degrees and high humidity, we long for the cold of winter again.
I don't really enjoy winter any more, especially with the snow and freezing temperatures that come with it. As a kid, it's fun because you get out of school and can play outside in the snow or hunker down and play video games inside.
But as an adult, you have to shovel the driveway, clear off the cars, and drive to work in that mess. In my case, after driving through all of that... I have to FLY in that mess.
No thanks, but I'll take a year-long Autumn though. Fall has always been my favorite season, with cool comfortable temperatures and the thought of (in my younger days) another hockey season starting up and seeing my friends in school once again. As an adult, the fall brings the slower work season and the excitement of celebrating Halloween with my family (including the annual Halloween party with Uncle Mickey and Aunt Minnie).
Stores around here had begun putting back-to-school items up in June, and Halloween items up before the end of July, so I don't doubt they'll be hanging Christmas merch on the shelves by the end of September. But that's a different discussion for another day.
It's always a little bittersweet at the end of summer, especially when I think of all of the promise and potential the summer season always brings at its beginning. Then I think of half of the things I set out to do that we never got completed.
One of our favorite YouTube channels, Keep Your DayDream, hosts a little activity every summer. You can get a poster for your wall from them where you can write out a list of intended summer activities and even "long shot" dreams. Then, you can cross them off one by one as a written reminder to get out there and enjoy summer.
I think perhaps we'll finally do that ourselves next summer.
I've heard several times that if you're lucky, you get only 18 summers with your kids. It's more like 15 or 16 if they start working a summer job right at 16, and even less if they go to summer camps or have a large and active friend group.
Well, we were blessed to spend our FIFTH summer together with our little one this year. It goes fast, as I was warned it does. My Grandfather always said the older you get, the faster time goes. On his late 90s, he even joked that he was so old he shouldn't bother getting out of bed in the morning.
I'd like to think the three of us made the most of our summer together. Like many people, I suppose I spend more time thinking about what I could have or should have done to make things as memorable as possible. Especially when my line of work takes me away from home for days at a time, the regrets caused by missed time with family begin to add up.
This year, in part due to the slow economy and people running out of extra pocket money for vacations, as well as a industry wide aircraft engine issues, we've reduced our flying like all the other airlines. Because of this, my airline is offering reduced-pay "no-fly" schedules instead of temporarily laying people off. I decided I wouldn't likely get many more chances to spend an entire August home with her before she's grown, so I jumped at the chance.
We've had so much fun, but I always think I could have done more.
Summers were quick as a kid, too. I'd have my whole summer mapped out by Easter, but before I knew it, it was the middle of August, and we were heading north for our annual 2 weeks in Maine vacation. We'd come home from that, and sometimes only a few days before Labor Day weekend when school began all over again.
The large pile of mail, collected by one of our neighbors, waited for us on Dad's recliner when we'd come home. It helped take the sting off of being back home after our vacation, and my brother and I would quickly sort through the mail looking for our school schedule. I'd hope I got the "good" teacher and quickly made calls to my friends to find out who else would be in my classes.
All of this thought about the passing of summer has me thinking back to the summer of 1998.
I think 1998 was my last "carefree" summer. I hung out with friends, watched or discussed pro wrestling daily, and lounged around. By 99, I had my first "real" summer job working for a landscaping company amidst a nasty heat wave where we had a stretch of two or three straight weeks of weather 95 to 100 degrees. He'd cancel when it rained, but we were out mowing lawns no matter the temperature. I'd have preferred to cancel in the heat and work in the rain, but that's just me...
Every summer after that, I had, at the very least, a seasonal job to make some pocket change and fill my time. I worked jobs that ranged from stocking shelves in a craft store to playing with dogs in a boarding kennel. In 2005, I got my first paid flying job when I was hired to teach other people to fly, and I've only flown planes for a living ever since.
Before I close out the summer, I'd like to post a list of this summer's new articles. When I get around to it, I'll add a Summer Collections List to the Collections Tab and include ALL of my summery-themed stuff for your perusal.
Camp YesterYear is now closed for the season. Campers... DISMISSED!
.png)
Comments