In 1939, humorist Arthur Kober wrote a radio play called “Now It’s Summer”. This might not have a lot of relevance to what I’m about to write, other than for me to show off I have some obscure knowledge of literature, but the play’s contents do get the point across.
The story involves a teacher who is trying to deal with a young male student who is heavily distracted by the oncoming season of summer and all of the outside non-school fun he’ll be having.
The teacher, annoyed with his student’s apathy toward his studies, eventually finds himself out and about and enjoying all that the warmer weather has to offer for recreation.
Depending upon how picky you want to be, now that it’s June 1, we can argue that summer is here.
The weather is warmer. We can go outside without it feeling like it’s a bad and cold life decision. School years are ending. There’s more free time, for some, or just a greater desire to “do something”. It’s a time to savor our surroundings and those in our lives who we share it with.
I know there are some people who do not like the heat or warmer weather, but there is still happiness to be found in a green time of the year such as this. Enjoy it!
I also know there are a lot of people who LOVE winter in all of its frigid and frozen glory.
See you in a few months.
Summer and the senses
Why does summer make me happy?
Give me a weekend evening. Give me brats on the grill. Give me the Brewers on the radio (if it’s early enough in the summer, they haven’t collapsed and fallen out of first place yet). Give me a cold grape soda. Give me the start of a sunburn on my face despite the fact I sunscreen — layered up a lot with SPF 200. Give me eating outside with almost no wind and perhaps no insects either. Give me daylight until well after 8 p.m. Give me temperatures that don’t really drop too cool and I don’t need a jacket while the sunset shows up with its array of colors only seen in a box of crayons.
Something like that must have made me very happy when I was very young because it’s why I can never wait for summer to get here and I’m a horrible Wisconsinite that really doesn’t like winter.
Summer is comforting. Summer lets us be us. There is no jacket required and I’m not talking about something containing “Sussudio”.
During summer, it’s easy to get a group of people together when there aren’t flurries gathering on your road, your car, or your nose.
Summertime lets you explore nature without a foot or so of those same flurries burying your legs and limiting your access.
As I’m writing this, I already know I’m going to open myself up to numerous rebuttals from Team Winter, Team Spring, and Team Fall/Autumn/Pumpkin Spice.
I will give your arguments all the time and respect they deserve and then promptly forget them.
Some blessings
No matter what season you prefer, they are all times to give thanks.
As you’re skiing down a hill, as you’re enjoying your tulips, as you’re riding a Ferris wheel, and as you’re wondering why pumpkin spice has to be a flavor in everything that comes out in late September and early October, be thankful for such gifts and reminders of the good in this world.
OK, I’ll be nice. In September and October, as you’re enjoying the latest completed leaf pile or coming home from a high school football game.
We have incredible and blessed senses with which to appreciate all of these things, no matter the season.
I’ll never be a winter person, but I’m glad you can feel what I feel at certain times of the year even if I stay outside too long and I feel nothing.
Embrace the season
Without risk to your skin, go outside when you get a chance.
Feel the sun on your face. There is nothing else quite like it.
Go find somewhere to look at some flowers. At no other time of the year will you see such colors (hush, leafers, hush).
If your diet permits it, go get some ice cream.
There’s no other time of the year that it tastes better. Ice cream should be mandatory warm weather eating. The only possible thing it can do is make your day better.
Try to get to one fair or festival this summer. They are some of the few things that haven’t changed a whole lot over the past years.
Rides are still rides. Music is still music, mostly. Mini donuts are still mini donuts. Mmmmm, mini donuts. Show animals are still show animals. The world of the fair hasn’t totally given into the world of the digital.
Summer is the best time for outside prayer too.
Find a spot somewhere outside and away from as many signs of modernity as possible.
Give thanks to God for His creation and the gift of life.
As summer ends, it’ll be time to prepare for change.
On this sphere, nothing lasts forever.
Fall and winter are times of change that we all go through daily in our lives.
As the planet turns, we’ll go forward and remember fondly the memories we made during the recently-passed summer.
We’ll hope that they come soon again and we’ll wish that we can get them back, but sometimes we can’t.
Sometimes the best blessings only happen once, but we try to never forget them.
They become a part of us and shape us and remind us of what we were blessed with come the next time we have a grape soda and we recall the laughter that happened the last time we popped a top on one.
Enough of my babbling. Get outside!
Thank you for reading.
I’m praying for you.