Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. Usually, at this time of year, I start thinking about Halloween costumes, fall candles and planning our trip to the pumpkin patch. In years past, I’ve even started making a list of what I’d like to get others for Christmas. (I know it’s early but the last few months of the year tend to fly by.) I’m ready to eat anything and everything pumpkin flavored and move on to the next season of the year. But this year I feel a little bit different.
We did a lot of fun activities as a family this summer, picking strawberries and blueberries as well as little excursions to the pool and fountain to cool off. Not to mention our numerous trips to the library. This summer has also had some major milestones. My son turned 4, and my husband and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. My children have grown a ton this summer. Not just physically but also in their understanding. My daughter, 2 next month, is using full sentences and phrases like never before. The other day I asked her if she was excited to pick up her brother from preschool. She replied, “Yes. I can’t wait to see him!”. 😂😂😂 My son has started saying “jokes” not all of them make sense but make me laugh nonetheless.
I want to freeze these moments. I know that right now I am living out my “good old days”. Times that I will look back on fondly in my memory. I am well aware of the brevity of life. I’m pretty sure every month I say to myself, “How is it already [insert month name]?”. This past weekend, I went to a family party in Chicago. It was great to see family members that I hadn’t seen since I was a teenager. It was also a little surreal being back in Chicago, visiting places that I’d loved as a child and sharing them with my own children.
Time passes by so quickly and thinking back to when I was a kid, I can remember feeling like I would never grow up. But I did and now I have a family of my own with children of my own, changing quickly before my eyes. I hug them a little tighter and tell them that I love them often because I’m so aware of how fast time is passing.
I know I can’t keep things the way they are right now forever nor would I want to. Part of the joys of today are the possibilities of tomorrow. But I wouldn’t mind a few more weeks of summer. Lucky for me, technically, I still have them!