It’s too hot! It’s too cold! You certainly can’t make everyone happy all the time. Some of us heartyNew Englanders enjoy complaining, and we know that misery loves company. I’m just glad those people all live somewhere else.
On Facebook, I recently saw that a friend had posted a picture of him grilling some food and commented, “enjoy summer now, as it’s almost over.” As I write this in late August, the next few days are forecasted to be 96°+ and some schools who are just beginning have already canceled afternoon classes. It doesn’t seem as though summer is done quite yet. And in my opinion, you can grill all year round – steak tips on New Year’s Day, anyone?
As I walk the aisle at the grocery store there is a full supply of fall beer on display, Octoberfest and Pumpkin-head a plenty. And a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts reveals that pumpkin donuts and coffee are fully stocked and ready. When I was a kid we called the next season fall, or autumn, but I think it’s been replaced by “pumpkin-flavored everything” season.
Why the rush for the next season? Before we know it, there will be Black Friday ads everywhere and Christmas trees will be for sale at Home Depot. It’s as though our goal has become to get to the next day, the next week, the next season, earlier and earlier each year. And when that season arrive? We don’t enjoy it because we’ve moved on to plan for the next one. We seem to always be in pursuit, but never enjoy the destination. Are we enjoying the journey? Do we live in the moment and take it day by day?
Many of you know that I have four school-age children. People tell me all the time to enjoy it while it lasts, because they grow up quickly. So, we do - we enjoy it. We go to soccer games, we make pancakes on Saturday mornings (pumpkin in the fall, of course), we take family vacations, we do all of that fun stuff and we seem to like each other, so that’s good, but time doesn’t seem to slow down no matter how much you enjoy the time together. My oldest is almost taller than me now, by the way. I sure wish he would slow down!
So, what do we do about this “hurry”, as time slips through our grip? We should strive to live well and do things that matter. Try something new. Develop a hobby. Invest in relationships. Take a risk. We only get one shot at this thing called life, and we shouldn’t get cheated. We all know life isn’t fair. We may not know what is ahead, but we have today, and I hope that we make the most of it. Live one day at a time and live well. And don’t forget to stop and smell the pumpkins.
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” ~ Mae West