I’m exhausted. Are you? We seem to wait forever for summer weather so we can really enjoy what it means to live here in Northern Michigan (this year, we seemed to wait a bit too long). Once summer is upon us, we tend to pack everything into our days that we dreamed about all winter long.
It’s time to garden, fish, hike, bike, travel, attend festivals, go to the beach, visit family and friends. The days even accommodate us so we can pack even more in. Some nights it doesn’t get dark until 10:00 pm during the summer. This means we can do even more in the daylight hours; go for a swim after work, prepare dinner on the grill at 7:00, and still have time to tack one more activity on the day (all before it gets dark). During the winter, I want to have the dishes done and be heading for my PJs by 7:00. Afterall, the sun will have set hours earlier so my body is ready for slumber. During the summer, we may go for a sunset paddle on Lake Michigan at 8:00 or 9:00 pm, but certainly I wouldn’t leave the house during the winter at 9:00 pm. That would be crazy. It’s all about perspective and I suppose daylight, which makes all these activities not only possible, but a good idea.
Labor Day is upon us, kids are back to school and the routines become more confining than the freedom that summer affords us. Usually by this time of year I am exhausted (truth be told). I am ready to slow down my pace and start eliminating unnecessary activities. Soon we will be stacking wood, donning sweaters, and enjoying a slower tempo in our days, and I suppose I am ready for that.
Since we were shortchanged on the front end of the summer, I would be perfectly happy with another month of warm temps, but that remains to be seen. Regardless, I did not leave anything undone this summer and I packed enough for the whole year, but I am tired and ready to don that sweater. Maybe that is why bears hibernate in the winter. Incidentally, the name Ursu means bear.
RSS Feed