Dear Summer

Dear Summer,

Today I go back to work and leave you for another year.  I am so sad. Do you remember when the whole summer was ahead of us and all I could do was bask in your promises? Sigh.

I know you don't actually think I'm sad this morning, but that is only because I have to buck-up and end this.  Don't worry about me, I have a wonderful place to work and lovely people that I enjoy spending time with.  I just need to rip the bandage off, you know?  I have spent the weekend moping around trying to convince Dustin to start playing the lottery so neither of us ever have to work again, but in my heart I know that this isn't actually a solution to saying goodbye...you still have to go.

I think what I'm mourning is the passing of time, you know?  An end to one more of your warm lovely seasons, in which you provided my family with camping, lakeside swimming, gardening, craft beers, library trips, bike rides, unedited time together... the list goes on.

You really outdid yourself this year.  You weren't just a summer, you were this pocket window of time that provided my family with beautiful things.  You also threw in some doozies too, but I'm older and wiser now. I no longer expect perfection - even from you.  Even when I am drunk on your sun-drenched days of May that are so full of promise for the coming months.

But I'm not writing to criticize.  I'm writing to thank you.

•   Thank you for teaching my five year old to tie his shoe.
• Thank you for watching my seven year old perfect gear shifts and long distance riding on his new bike.
• Thank you for listening to the words of my 2 year old form into beautiful conversation and hilarious commentary as he gently (or not so gently) approached 3. 
• Thank you for convincing my not-so-brave boys to jump off the end of the dock at the lake. 
• Thank you for organizing my utensil drawer, and then my closets and eventually my garage - getting rid of an enormous amount of access that flooded our lives.
• Thank you for overwhelming us with God's creation through rivers, lakes, mountains, beaches, and forests.
• Thank you for listening to my children learn Bible School songs that led to spontaneous concerts throughout every day.
• Thank you for bringing me together with my parent and the brother who has spent the majority of our adult life living too far away from me - for providing our children with a place to grow up together.
• Thank you for the few days you allowed us to throw open our windows and let the outside in.
• Thank you for Lake Michigan beaches, reunions, airplanes, concerts, ice cream, peach cobbler, giant blueberries, watermelon, corn on the cob, and your night-time sounds.

You've really outdone yourself. You weren't just any summer. You were one of the most precious seasons of my adult life, and I'm so glad to have known you.

I can't wait to meet you again.

Your slightly more tan friend,

Tiffany
xoxo