This summer has been so different than the ones before. Over the years, celebrations and graduations have brought a slight sting as they marked the poignant passage of time. Warm July days float and melt into one another, and as grace will have it, there are also moments when summer's stillness gently eases my heart.
This year, the start of summer did not bring its yearly sting. Instead, these first few weeks have brought a longing of summers past - watermelon sticky faces, soaking sprinkler dances, Catherine's upturned face waiting for sunscreen, rope swinging, water splashing and toes digging in the sand. Thing is, I think we are all longing for what was and what will be, for normalcy and for innocence, for any assurance in an unsure world.
Now, as I watch my son joyfully swinging across the water and dropping into the lake, it all makes sense. Summer is about the simplicity and serenity of a season that offers awe and innocence. Sun baked days lie ahead and can be filled with all that we make them...just as it was in the days of the sprinkler soaked clothes and sand filled shoes. My sincere hope is that you discover, in your longing of summers past, days that represent a true celebration of summer present.
