Summer: Store Those Memories

Summer is winding down with the Labor Day weekend looming. Kids are back in school or imminently headed there. Evenings are getting cooler, and morning temps have had a touch of chill. I love the changing of the seasons but have to admit that it gives me a touch of melancholy to think that winter is on its way. I have to store all of the sunshine, warmth, and brightness of the long days to prepare myself for the colder, shorter, darker days of winter.

Lily Pad Fun-Photo by S. Williams

Summer is a time when we’re outside in the Northwest. Gardening, walking, hiking, paddling, boating, camping, golfing. Swim lessons with the kiddos. Impromptu al fresco meals. The farmers markets, the high-pitched laughter of children playing in the water, the sheer joy on our dog’s face when he leaps off the dock for his ball. The memories of these activities will make me smile during the winter months. Like a bear, gorging himself on berries in preparation for hibernation, I store each experience in my heart to protect against the winter's frigid temperatures. Girls weekend, picking huckleberries, s’mores and deep conversation by the fire, meteor showers on the dock, dragging my husband out of bed at 4:00am to see the planet alignment, satellite gazing, connecting with new cousins, all of these will bring precious warmth and a smile to my face when I sit watching the snow fall outside my window.

Summer Planetary Alignment-Photo by S. Williams

While fall and winter bring about their own experiences and beauty, they tend to limit our time outside and most definitely bring shorter days. We go from sixteen hours and eight minutes to eight hours and twenty-four minutes of daylight per day. Nearly half! Yes, I looked it up. It's real.

Summer Sunset-Photo by S. Williams

I might just have a touch of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. I start counting down the days as they get shorter, when I should really be focusing on the many hours of sunlight that we currently enjoy. How many times in life do we do this? We take away the joy of the current day by worrying about the next. Instead of living in the moment, we fixate on tomorrow, next week, next month. It’s easy to do unless you adjust your focus. The what-ifs and maybes are our joy steelers. They take away the energy meant for today. So, I'm going to try to adjust my focus this season and be thankful for the day that is unfolding around me. To be present in the now. To enjoy the moment. No matter if there's daylight or not!

What do you do when you find that worry about tomorrow robs today of its joy? How do you get through the long days of winter with a positive mindset? I'd love to hear your comments.