I’ve been trying to stay upbeat here and not take the dour
end of summer route.
But I admit it’s starting to get to me.
As soon as a hint of fall weather drops in it’s hard to
avoid.
I was watching a group of little kids at the beach playing
in the water the other day. Not a one of
them gave any indication that in just about a little more than 2 weeks they
would be back sitting at a splintery old school desk trying to locate that
piece of gum they stored there last June.
As far as they were concerned the summer was still a work in-progress,
without a discernible end in sight.
And that’s how we all were once. A thousand years ago summer did seem to last
forever, because we never ventured far from whatever perfect day we were immersed
in at that particular flawless moment.
It’s one of the perks of kiddom, though being a kid we never
knew it, let alone thought about it…you know, because of the perks.
Still, summers do end, even for a kid, and when it does, the
more we’ve pushed off thinking of the inevitable, the harder it slaps us in the
face when it does arrive.
“What…why didn’t
anyone tell me school started last week!”
Or something like that.
But another kiddom perk is adaptability. We take the slap and move on to the next
perfect moment. Splashing in the waves becomes throwing a football 30 yards down
the field for a touchdown.
As we grow up, summer endings become more frequent, and so
we lose that benefit of moment to moment living and begin to dread, long before dread
is necessary.
All this serves to do is ruin all those still too perfect
moments, fleeting though they are, instead of just enjoying them and storing
them.
So I’ve been trying not to do that this year.
That’s what all the Pollyanna upbeat, positive “there still plenty of summer left”
shinola I’ve been peddling lately has been about.
And I do believe that…but it’s just hard to feel it all the time, which makes a difference.
Baby steps….you know?
I’m getting there.
And then there’s what seems like a thousand butterflies buzzing
around our butterfly bush at the moment, who are telling me to knock it off.
Even as I sit here, the cool morning air is warming, and the
hint of fall still to come has been pushed back, for at least another day.
So that’s cool…or warm…or something.
Stay in the moment.
Think like a kid.
Happiness comes in small bites.
Take as many as you can…and don’t forget to chew.
Chew as long as you can….
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And don't forget to floss.
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