How on earth did it get to be August already? It’s so crazy to think that just one year ago I was winding down my traditional career and getting ready to enter the world of writing and inspiration! I understand the concept of time flying when you’re having fun and all, but this is kind of nuts!
Summer is also starting to wind down, although no one told the thermometer that! In Southern California it gets hotter and hotter during the end of summer until you’re convinced that it will never be cool again or rain again.
When I was a kid, I remember my love/hate relationship with August. I was looking forward to seeing my school friends again and wearing all my cool new school outfits, but I dreaded the end to my carefree, run-through-the-neighborhood days and nights that summer brought with it.
As I got older, I continued that same relationship. I looked forward to my kids going back to school and getting our family back on a regular schedule and routine. But I knew I was going to miss the slow, lazy mornings and the trips to the beach and park anytime we felt like it.
I don’t know what it is about the lazy days of summer that make me feel young again. Trying to squeeze the last of the daylight out of everyday reminds me of playing on the street under the streetlight at the end of our cul-d-sac. We’d lie on the street and feel the heat of the day still warming up the asphalt.
I remember swimming in the community pool and then our own backyard pool all day and long into the evening, our fingers wrinkled beyond recognition and toes raw from continuously pushing off the side of the pool for the next lap. What I remember about summer most was the lack of responsibility, the looser curfew and the greater freedom to explore and use our imaginations.
How did time move so quickly that we don’t get the chance anymore to sit under the streetlight or spend so many hours in the pool that our hair turns green and our eyes are bloodshot for days? Suddenly there are bills to pay, meetings to attend, laundry to clean, meals to shop for and cook. So much busyness.
I vote we take our summer back! Or at least our August – when we are already starting to miss the carefree summer but looking forward to the unknown of the coming school year. Even without being in school, there is something anticipatory about fall – when will the weather change, what will the holiday’s hold, will I accomplish everything for the year I set out to accomplish way back in January?
Life really is but a blink. My prayer for everyone and challenge to you today is this: take back your lazy summer days! Slow down just for 5 min and do something you did during your childhood summer…take your shoes off and sit under a tree on the grass; instead of eating lunch inside, head out to a park bench and have an impromptu picnic. Leave the dishes in the sink after dinner and go for a stroll around your neighborhood. Maybe even find a streetlight to sit under and feel the leftover warmth of the day. Grab a book, a blanket, leave your to-do list on the table and find a spot to slow down and actually enjoy a lazy summer day, even if it’s only for a minute or two!
I think the secret to kids’ ability to go and go and go is the fact that they soak up their lazy summer days. Even though I can’t control the aging of my outside, I can certainly control the aging of my insides! Remembering some of my childhood feelings is a great place to start. And that includes slowing down and letting a summer day’s laziness take over for a while!
