Reflections
Flowers on My Windowsill
Posted on June 3, 2019 | Posted by Annie Saunders
Naturalistically speaking, fall and spring are considered transitional seasons. As the cycle of life drums on, trees lose their leaves and enter dormant states for multiple months until the lengthening days and warmer temperatures coax them to bud and blossom. Summer and winter, therefore, dominant the four seasons—two opposing forces that cast the longest shadow (*bah-da-bump*…get it? It’s an astronomy joke). But again, this is all true within the lens of nature.
In the world of man (who quite often likes to go against what nature dictates), I would contend that summer is our time of transition. Think about it. It’s when we characteristically take long vacations from work and responsibilities, it’s when we move to different cities, when we stay up late and sleep in, when we go for bike rides, hikes, camping and fishing trips, and when Dad wears his khaki cargo shorts. Special events like weddings are at their peak in the summer, representing a new step in a couple’s life—a transition forward.
Summer is supposed to be a break or time of rest, but for a lot of us—it doesn’t feel like it. We often pour over our calendars struggling to schedule and coordinate everyone’s vast summer experiences. We also overload ourselves with things we want to do during the summer. We have to take a trip to the science museum in Denver, but don’t forget we’re visiting family in Kansas, also we’ve never been to San Francisco, my Red Rocks tickets are for July 14th but summer camp starts July 15th, and I really want to visit Yellowstone National Park with my best friend before she moves, and oh my gosh they’re already putting up “Back to School” stuff at Target!
As we fill every possible moment of our summers, we are still very aware that September is approaching. If summer is one loud, whirlwind of an outdoor barbeque, then September is the annoyed neighbor telling you it’s almost midnight—it quickly plops you back into reality. Sorry Mrs. Mortensen.
With September’s entrance comes the necessity to get “back to the grind,” and prepare for the next quarter, the next grade, the next chapter, the next project, and the next season. With that “next” inherently comes some apprehension. Generally speaking, we don’t like change. We like to anticipate what’s going to happen next, and we like to know things. We dread the close of summer because it means our time of transition, has transitioned—we have to face whatever “next” is before us.
So, your summer is going to fly by, and you’re going to be running around the entire time. Good. I invite you to embrace the hectic and short-lived state of June through August. Keep in mind it’s not what you do in the summertime, or how much you prepare for what’s coming in the fall. It’s about the memories summer gives you, and those memories you can take with you and utilize as the year continues forward.
Let us revel in this solstice of transition and let us find a place to readjust and reflect. Find the time to stop stirring the potato salad and sit on your patio instead. Watch the clouds drift by and listen to your favorite album. Close your eyes and appreciate the birdsong. Shake things up and attend Ascension’s summer services on Wednesday nights. Document your summer through pictures, poems, and journals. Realize that like everything else, summer is a gift given to us by God.
Amen to that.
