Yikes!!! Only 1 Month of Summer Vacation Left!!!

It’s the fifth day of August.  My first reaction is a good one…I’ve always liked the month of August…now we’re really well into summer…the porch is ready for sitting, doctor’s appointments have been made and are over until next year, work seems a million miles away, big cumulus cotton candy clouds are floating in peaceful blue skies, I’ve been hitting the summer sales, eating ice cream several times a week and picking up sea glass from the beach…and then it hits me…only one more month LEFT!!!  Yikes…a gripping fear sets in.  “I didn’t get to”…comes flying out of my mouth…followed by a string of activities I had hoped to accomplish during my summer vacation.  Then I look out the window and notice that it’s a beautiful summer day.  The realization hits me that nature isn’t going any slower or faster…trying to cram in a thousand activities before fall.  It doesn’t seem worried about the snow all about in the midst of winter.  The trees don’t seem concerned about losing their leaves in autumn.  They are just content with each day…as we should be.  Some days may be more exciting…full of travel, meeting with friends, creating art…whereas others may be filled doing routine chores, picking out cellphones, shopping for groceries, walking the dog.  All of these days together make up our lives.  I think a good way to measure our time is not to worry or feel anxious about “how much is left” or “how much we have left to do.”  We need to focus on how much has been accomplished, what we have shared with others, what life has presented to us and how rich our experiences have been.  Take some time and make an inventory of a specific time period of your life and see the richness and emotion that it holds.  You may be surprised by the abundance in your life.  Take each day as it comes.  Be grateful for what it has to offer you.  Relax.  Enjoy the ride!    

For me, it has been the summer of…

• collecting sea glass on the shores of Lake Erie
• reading outside by the light of the campfire
• picking blueberries
• eating home made pie for breakfast
• watering the New Guinea impatiens every morning
• blogging
• listening to band concerts in the park
• playing putt-putt golf
• eating organic produce
• dog sitting
• drinking my morning coffee on the front porch while listening to the song of the morning birds
• getting together with old friends, reminiscing about old memories and creating new ones
• listening to exotic Arabic music, eating scrumptious Lebanese food and connecting to my roots at the annual Lebanese Festival
• reading magazines with a bowl of popcorn nearby
• checking out garage sales for interesting items
• family picnics
• Fourth of July fireworks
• watching the local AAA Baseball Team play outdoors at dusk
• staying up late and sleeping in
• family dinners around the kitchen table, graduation parties and a special trip to my favorite French restaurant
• going antique shopping
• picking fresh produce from the garden
• basking in the myriad colors of flowers all around…purple cone flowers, bright yellow black-eyed susans, multi-colored gladiolas,  pink spotted lilies, white Queen Ann’s lace, and red, soft yellow and salmon colored rose bushes among them
• watching the cardinals and the rose breasted grosbeak at the bird feeder
• meditating, writing, creating

And I still have one more month of vacation to savor!