Dear Summer,

It saddens me so that some people are trying to rush through you just to get to fall decorations and pumpkin flavored everything! Oh, yes, I know that you are beginning your wind-down, but really, you are no more than halfway through, and I want to continue to enjoy your benefits!

I am thankful for it getting darker a little earlier in the evening and for the slightly cooler temperatures at night, but I'm not ready for sweatshirts and socks just yet.

Summer, you help me to continue to strive to live in the moment. Living in the moment isn't always easy for me, in fact, sometimes it can be downright difficult. I want to rush ahead, but I don't know why I do that. I don't know why I can't just relax in the now, but, Summer, you are helping me to get there. It's easier to sit back and admire the view in the summer and it's easier to just let kids be kids in the summer, allowing for their current stages to just be.

Life moves by so very, very fast. Before we know it our kids are having kids and it feels as though it will just be a blink of an eye and those little ones will be having their own little ones. So, Summer, thank you for helping me to slow down and enjoy the moments.

Thank you for our new "hobby". Who knew that we would enjoy camping?! Maybe you did, Summer...maybe we just weren't listening before. Granted, it's not like we are really roughing it, but having the camper available to us is a wonderful blessing! 😎

Summer, you've also brought a few surprises our way, too, this year. A deeper faith, a few new convictions, major changes in some areas. I appreciate all of those things, too.

So, as August begins, Summer, and as the grasses and trees get heavier with the growth of the season, and as the crops begin to turn to brown, help me to stay in the moment, help me to not rush the seasons...of the year or of our lives.

Thank you, Summer, for wrapping me in your warm sunshine, brilliant blue skies, and velvet green of a lush landscape. You have given me lots to smile about this year and I'm looking forward to more smiles for the second half of your season!

🌞🌞