The Fun Of Summer

It’s here. I know summer officially doesn’t arrive for another month but this week has certainly had a feel of summer to it.

The sun, the blue sky, the end of another school year and the afternoon temperature creeping near 90 are just some of the indicators that summer is just around the corner (or really already here to be honest).

My enjoyment of summer obviously goes back to my childhood. I suppose it’s that way for most. When you are young, summer means a lengthy break from school and until you are old enough for that first summer job it means the ultimate in being lazy, watching television, going swimming or doing just about anything you want.

Summer, to me, has always meant longer days, great weather and even a replenishing of the soul. Old Man Winter has completely lost his grasp by mid-May and it’s as if everything has a new, bright light shining on it.

Personally, I still long for those summers from my youth when I literally didn’t have a care in the world. I can remember counting down the days until the school year was over up to three months in advance. I suppose that’s no different for students today.

For me summer is a little different these days of course. As adults, we often don’t notice summer except for the fact there is less traffic on the roads in the morning. No longer do we have to worry about getting caught behind school buses on the commute to and from work.

Work, of course, rolls on, even in summer. Through the years when I was in the newspaper business, we usually had summer interns, whether they were college or high school students. It was always interesting to see how they enjoyed the break from school, even if it meant working.

It’s hard not to think back to younger days when trips to 4-H camp were common. The days of playing recreation baseball and the fun I would have hanging out at the complex with friends are also fondly recalled. The hours upon hours at the local swimming pool where time was no factor at all are still fresh in my mind. “A different world,” I often think to myself when I recall those days. Yet, I still think of them often.

I only wish there was some way to bottle up that feeling of enjoying summer as a child. If somehow we could go back, even if only for a week or a day, and experience it all again.

Summer will always be great. Even as I now approach my 46th year on this planet (yikes!), I will always look forward to the arrival of the summer months and welcome it with open arms.

However, summer will always be reserved for the young in my line of thinking. For it is kids who are truly able to be carefree and enjoy the overall beauty that is summer.

For now, I will enjoy it the best way I can. I will enjoy having daylight when I get home from work and watching the final rays of the summer sky begin to fade. And I will think somewhere of a younger version of myself running wild and free and enjoying all the glory that summer has to offer.

Welcome back summer. It’s great to have you back.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long-time newspaper columnist. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.