Summer

 

Summer has officially arrived.  I recall the endlessness of summer as a child.  The mornings that melted into afternoons and lazily progressed to the night.  Time was slower in the summer casting a softer light on the world.  There were endless tasks to occupy our time:  catching frogs and lizards, swimming as if we had fins and gills, playing anywhere and everywhere with anything.  Friends new and old seemed to brighten each day through laughter and love.  Independence was gained one sweet hour at a time.  Sleep came easily on those hot summer nights.  A listless body fell into a deep slumber after a sun soaked day of breathing the fresh outside air.

 

Everything in summer always seemed to be encircled by magic.  From enjoying the instant cool of a fresh Popsicle, to chasing fireflies under a starry night sky, the joys of summer seemed to dance around us.  We didn’t seek magic, but magic always seemed to find us.  From crossing chilly rivers with best friends, to swimming in deep lakes, to camping with second families, magic and wonder flooded us each and everyday.

 

Now that I have children of my own, I hope the same happiness, timelessness and wonder fill them this and every summer.  Watching them swing, dig, run, hike in the Alps and splash in the ocean remind me that this is the time to slow down.  It is the time to watch those paragliders take off from tall mountains in nothing other than amazement.  

 

Summer is the time to neglect deadlines and lunch hours, to let go of perfect schedules and tidy houses.  It is rather a time to absorb their innocence, their happiness and their giddiness for as long as I can.  To remember those childhoods come and go ever so quickly and this is their time and our time to create lasting memories.

 

 Summer is magical.   

Catch it, dance with it, hold it, release it and breathe it in for as long as you can.  That is what we hope to do these next few weeks of luxurious freedom. 

Enjoy!