end of summer

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

(F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby)

I love that line “life was beginning over again with the summer..” I love it because I relate to it. I have always felt that I was most alive in the summers. I was born during one of the hottest ones in Mississippi, so that might be why. With this Summer coming to an end, I can’t really say though that I felt as if my life “started over” or anything. Maybe it is better to say that these last few months have been more focused on living and less focused on life ending. This is a bittersweet thing, but I have to welcome it.

Fall is pretty much here. I am already making pot roasts, turning the air conditioner off, and ordering fall flavored coffees for my Keuring! The Harvest Moon has come and gone and when we wake up tommorrow it will officially be Fall. I am slightly bothered by how quickly time is moving, but I suppose that is what I love about the seasons. The excitement as each new one begins distracts from how quickly a year can go by.

So I am saying goodbye to a summer that was quiet but eventful. I was blessed with relaxing evenings with friends—old and new, precious time with family, and plenty of projects to keep my creative side going. I had a chance to heal my soul by the ocean, and later wake it up in the city. There was a lot of time to myself (which I have finally settled into), as well as many opportunities to remind myself that I am fortunate to have so many cool people in my life. There is a fullness that has come from this Summer, that while not starting over, has been a gift of renewal.