It looks like the first part of the year is about gone. Don’t know where it went, but here we are. I don’t like to say it is because I’ve gotten older, but, in reality, that must be the case.
When I was younger, it seemed like it took forever, for summer to arrive. The only good part is that the summer lasted just as long. When we left the schoolhouse, to enjoy our summer vacation, we had a long three months. It got so long that we secretly wished that we were back in school.
Surely, all the parents in America remember the kids whining that they had nothing to do. This would be at the end of the summer, not at the beginning, as we hear today. As we get older, we yearn for the time when there is nothing to do. That thought is entertainment, in itself.
If only we could make the younger folks realize that. My grandmother once told me to enjoy being young, for being old is a lot longer. Of course, I had to brush that off, because I would never get old. She forgot to mention that when you get older, time goes by a lot faster too.
Someone asked me what I was doing this weekend. I thought about it and said nothng. The word nothing had a golden ring to it, for many times my life is scheduled down to the minute. Of course, there are things to do, but nothing that has to be done. Nowhere to go, nothing to get in the way, of just staring at the wall. We all need that sometimes, in this busy world of ours.
Getting back to that time that quickly flies. I was taking down the Christmas tree and now I am facing hurricane season. Yes, that dreaded season where the strong winds blow and you wonder if you are going with it. I was in Hurricane Betsy, in New Orleans, in 1965, and I thought that the house was going to fly, like in the Wizard of Oz. Same goes for Hurricane Ike. As soon as the leaves began to swish, I thought that I was in for one big ride. Luckily, we rode it out, and those trees fell away from the house.
The hurricanes I mentioned were at the end of the summer, but, June is when we begin to think about them. After last year’s hurricane season ended, I went whew, and figured it would be a while before I had to worry about that again. Wrong, it is right here once again.
The best part of summer vacation was the anticipation of it. To dream of nothing to do, to do as one wanted. Late nights, and late sleep-ins. No schedules and no special projects. I think that is the best part of life, no matter what phase you are in. The anticipation of some event. It keeps us going. It keeps us dreaming. It gives us something to look forward to. If only we could slow down the clock a bit, then the anticipation could last a bit longer.
“Summer breeze-
Looking for a gentle time freeze.”
Three by M.E./Rhymes of the Times 