It happened not once, twice, but three times over the last weekend, I encountered somebody who said, "Summer's almost over". It should be noted, that at the time I was given this breaking news, it was still JULY, so I am unsure why these folks want to burst the bubble that is summertime. Isn't summer short enough that we don't need to mentally fast forward to the end when we are only at the half way point? Especially in the Northeast, where I reside, and summer is the precious pair of months that we are freed of the constraints of outerwear to bear our pasty skin to the elements. We all know that our near future will be filled with fleece and Gore-Tex, you don't need to remind us.
Part of the issue could be the fact that kids, mine included, seem to return back to school earlier than I did as a child. "Back in my day" :-) Labor Day was the last day of summer, the next day, the first day of school. Now, kids go back to school, a week before Labor Day, even earlier in some locales. This effect gets even more pronounced as the stores begin rolling out back to school ads and promotions in store starting in late July. It's a relentless reminder that summer days are fleeting.
So please, let's all resolve not to dwell on the end of summer, but to enjoy the remainder of the season while the days are still long and warm.
