Where did the summer go? That seems to be a common question each September. So many of us seem to look forward to Summer all year long and then, before we know it, it’s gone and our list of Summer activities hasn’t shrunk, our to-do’s are just as long, and we still didn’t get to that museum/game/event we meant to attend that year.
Personally, I feel like I somehow missed Summer. There’s a lot about the last few months that I’m disappointed with, and there’s a lot that has me wondering what needs to be done, and what I can change to break this feeling of daily deja vu with out wishing my valuable time away and not loosing sight of the great things that did happen – and are happening currently.
The Goat is back into his school routine and I’m planning the holiday schedule at the shop and looking at the 2017 calendar. I’m already overwhelmed with places I need to be, events I should be attending, and work commitments that are on the schedule through the end of the year – baby and bridal showers, weddings, significant birthdays, shop events, holiday festivals, family gatherings.
While I don’t want to miss any of these events, and I don’t want to sound uncaring or selfish, because lets be honest, if you’re invited to a baby / bridal shower or a wedding, as much as you might not enjoy those events in general, you are probably an important person to the honoree and you probably feel the same way about them (there are exceptions that fall under obligation, but those are, well, exceptions). But watching my Fall and early Winter schedule fill up so fast is daunting.
And maybe that’s why Summer seemed to disappear so fast. While we were trying to maintain the status quo, summer flew by in a flurry of obligations, volunteer time, events and family gatherings, and vacation. While some of this is to be expected – after all, The Goat’s schedule requires that we take our vacation in the summer – it still leaves me wondering what I could have done to soak in a bit more of Summer warmth and sunshine that could help propel me through the next season and into Winter.
So while a large number of you relish the idea of a “Pumpkin Spice Flavored World” (which is something I don’t understand), I’m mourning the loss of nights with windows open, short sleeves and single layers of clothing, cooking outside, and long days. I don’t look forward to the onslaught of events that, for those of us in retail, starts around this time every year – and don’t go blaming Christmas, there are a myriad of festivals and events between now and then.
If The Goat and I are going to get through Fall, I need to stop planning ahead while looking back. I need to remind myself of the fun stuff ahead and not linger on what I missed or didn’t get to do last season. That can be hard, especially as we through the worst allergy season for me, and move into a season where one event follows on the wake of another and there doesn’t seem to be an end until it comes to a screeching halt in the dull, drab, dead of Winter.
So while some of you sip your pumpkin spice flavored mochas and eating your pumpkin spice flavored muffins, I’ll be content with homemade applesauce, a box of tissues (for my allergies) and sauntering through our yard admiring the still growing plants as long as I can. I’ll even drink my tea on the porch under a blanket if I have to – anything to hold on to the Summer that seemed to have flown by.
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