Tracks In The Dust

Summer Solstice

It’s that time of year where summer is “official” on the calendar.

Here in the US it is that time again to think seriously about summer. For many of us that happened back at the end of May when America celebrates Memorial Day. But for the science of it all, summer begins now.

It sill churns up all the great memories of what summer meant when I was a kid: hot summer days at the beach, baseball season starts to really take shape, get ready for Independence Day celebrations and barb-e-ques ahead, hop on the bike and ride to places to enjoy the out-of-doors (does anyone really call it that anymore?).  There was kind of a feeling of anticipation of what the adventure of summer would bring.

Anticipation for the “lazy days“: Like my mom and dad planning a family vacation. Even the summer songs on the radio would be upbeat, softball leagues would be gathering at the neighborhood park, the dog-days of August were lurking in the post July heat ahead-. The world seemed brighter– may be because the days were longer and the nights seemed more available to extend the day’s activities.

As I have gotten older, some of that still remains. I think I worked hard to make sure my kids could feel those same remembrances, but now they are older now and creating their own.  I asked my teenage daughter (who is days away from NOT being called a “teenager”) – where would you like to live as you continue your journey into adulthood?  Her answer: “somewhere where there are seasons”.    Her younger years were in the mid-west US, but these past many years we have lived in Texas where those season changes are so much harder to recognize.

Summer solstice is here. To everything there is a season. Time to capture this one and enjoy it.

Photo credit: artsboston.org