Years ago, I wrote a post about summer memories: things like smells and sounds that remind me of my summers as a kid. For some reason, I often think specifically of that post around this time of year. There’s something about that first week of HOT temps (this week saw 90 each day) that makes me feel all happy. No one really likes being hot but I do like this time of year.

Admittedly, this is also a crazy time of our lives because the kids are finishing up school so it’s all papers and reminders and end-of-year activities. It’s buying teacher thank you gifts and preparing for them being out of school for 10 weeks. But it’s also more relaxed bedtimes and rules. It’s swimming in the evenings and watching fireflies dot the backyard. The feelings I get from these things reminds me – ever so slightly – of that carefree feeling that I possessed as a child. You know that feeling of running through a sprinkler? I didn’t have a pool in my childhood home but we had a huge backyard and my mom set up a big sprinkler (and sometimes a slip ‘n slide) and that rush of running through the cold water for the first time is the essence of that youthful feeling. You aren’t really worried about it but the excitement of the cold and getting wet is exhilarating. As you become an adult, very few things give you that zing of emotion anymore.

Just like in the last post I linked, fireworks do the same thing for me. They’re so pretty and expressive and when you’re watching them, nothing else seems to matter. It’s like the scene in The Sandlot where all the kids stop eating and playing when the fireworks begin. you can’t help but be captivated by the sight.

I’m excited to see what this summer holds for me. I know that with all these interviews, one of them will surely work out but when? My summer might be about change and learning new things and a transition. I must say, that would be a good time, as town and businesses do slow down. I could really use that too – some slowing down!