Summertime blues

Though it doesn't happen often, we've got ourselves just a bit of summer here, at least for the moment. Things could change quickly, and then it'd be all just a memory.

Growing up in the US meant l-o-n-g summers. Till high school came around and evening and summer jobs were on the agenda (because those were the days when you could still put yourself through college without going into debt ... it wasn't cheap, especially for a blue-collar dad helping two of us through at the same time, but it was doable), it seemed they lasted forever. Even after I started working during them, it was generally second shift, which meant late nights and very often a round of golf in the morning. The whole rhythm of life changed. But, then again, things were a bit slower then.

Growing up in Western Pennsylvania meant h-o-t summers, too. There were a couple of exceptions, but generally, hot, humid, heavy, dog-days were the standard. Part of the slowness came from the weather. Shade, breezes, especially after the sun went down were what everyone was looking for. Late summer nights on the porch, drinking mom's iced tea. Might as well sit. It was too hot to sleep.

Living in San Jose meant half-year summers. Oh, we had four seasons, but the variation between them was easy to miss. For the first seven years we lived there, we didn't see a single drop of rain. Droughts will get to you after a while. It was pleasant though most of the year, but we always got a triple-digit week in July, just about this time, in fact.

All in all, what all of these places have in common is how much better most peoples' attitudes are when the sun is shining. The temperatures may be weighing you down, but the sunshine makes things brighter and you notice people just smiling more, moving just a little bit more slowly. There's nothing like some sunshine to simply take some of the edge off life.

It's really too bad we can't keep a bit of that all through the year. I'm sure it would help, but in the end you have to take what you get weather-wise, don't you?

I suppose what gets me down about summer, in the end, is that there just isn't enough of it. Here in Southern Germany where I'm living now, we get a bit more of it than we did when I lived further north in Hessen. Oh, don't get me wrong, I know to appreciate it when I get it. Lots of folks around here like to complain when it gets too hot, but you'll never hear me complain.

The heat will simply slow you down. And we need to slow down. Life has become just one, big, non-stop, can't-seem-to-get-enough-of-anything kind of event, and that's not getting us anywhere. Slow down. Do just a little less. Take your time. It's summertime.