July 4th is always bittersweet to me. It marks the half-way point of summer. Sure enough my notification of the first day back to school popped up on my phone that very day leaving me feeling a bit melancholy.
The glass-half-full side of this equation is that half of summer remains...long days of rest and restoration, days set aside to tick a number of items off my ongoing to-do list, days to spend along side family and friends.
Those remaining days of summer will be packed with some of my favorite things: vine-ripened tomatoes, juicy peaches, a family reunion, natural wonders in the sky, books, laughter, my own backyard, and no matter how messy things get summer brings me a joy in witnessing another year of democracy in the land that I love.
I know exactly what you mean about the fourth of July. Although if summer only really begins in late June, can it really be halfway? (Trying to convince myself here.)
ReplyDeleteAs much as I dislike summer's heat and humidity, I am nowhere near ready for summer to be sliding toward an end.
We finish school around Memorial Day and return the first week of Aug. Too-darned-soon!
DeleteTime does seem to pass so quickly, and here we are mid-year and mid-summer in the sense of seasons and school calendars. And yet just as you note, each day of this season is one to cherish, to linger a bit, to relax and enjoy the good things that sustain us and give pleasure.
ReplyDeleteSpending time with family and friends, accomplishing a few things on the never-ending to-do list, enjoying all the fresh fruits and veggies, books and laughter, night skies and sunrises, it just sounds great... and feels great too! A family reunion is also awesome, they don't happen often enough and it's important to stay connected!
Witnessing democracy is quite an experience, and we will learn from all this. I join you in celebrating the land we love, and all the opportunities it affords us that are unknown to so many elsewhere. It is not a perfect world, and it never will be, but we can still be perfectly happy with the lives we have, and I smile to see your post detailing that so well. Enjoy your summer, there will be enough time to fuss about Fall when it gets here. May your days continue to be blessed and ever-sweet! <3
Thank you! And what a good reminder that we will all learn from all that is going on these days. Reminds me of that saying--that which does not kills us, makes us stronger!
Deleteyeah, what the heck is it with the downward half of summer?! I mean, sure the days are getting shorter (slowly) but that does not explain why there's a slightly different cast of the light towards the end of the day. But there is. (I take some solace in the fact that this, this perception of summer being over at the halfway point is the price I willingly pay to be able to feel that Winter ends on December 21st.
ReplyDeleteStill, August is usually an excellent month for the (possibility) of hear waves and such.
Our first big heat wave started Monday which is putting a real damper on my walking goal. I am a bigger wiener than that dog at the 4th of July parade when it comes to being outdoors in heat and humidity!
DeleteWe were not truly done with school until the week before the 4th, so the idea of it being half-way over is...unthinkable! Still, even for us the 4th is a marker. It's the start of when we lose the sense of endless time that we usually have in June. (Because of our late finish, that didn't really happen this year.) I hope the rest of your days are restorative. Not sure exactly when you go back, but I hope not for a good while yet.
ReplyDeleteAugust 2nd, Rita! Isn't that criminal? It is still so hot, and the kids have absolutely no desire to be in school when it is so clearly summer. Ugh! The price I pay for June and July though. So, I will take it!
DeleteI love these photos.
ReplyDeleteRest and restoration. Yes.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am looking forward to fresh, sweet peaches here soon.
Fruits and vegetables of summer----it is the simple things that matter!
DeleteSome of the schools here finished up mid-June and have until Labor Day in September for summer break. Since the schools in our area aren't air conditioned, I can only imagine how miserable it would be to be stuck in a hot classroom in the summer.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I love your TToT post, especially your last paragraph. The artwork is wonderful too.