Summertime

It is summertime! The signs are all here: the grass is green, the leaves on the trees are out, the flowers are blooming, the days are longer, the sun is full of heat, the birds are singing, and the babies born this spring are now bigger and feeling independent, as long as mom is nearby.

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near," (Matthew 24:32 NIV). 

I love summertime. I need the sunshine to ward off my depression. I enjoy the heat and would love to sit and soak it up all day long, but my pale skin doesn't like the sun. After years of enjoying the sun I now have to worry about skin cancer. I've already had several pre-cancerous spots removed so I'm using sunscreen and caution about being in the sun now. Something I should have been smarter about much sooner.

Summer brings reunions and weddings, camps and road trips, vacations and picnics. Summer is bicycle riding, working in the garden, making hay, picking flowers, eating on the patio or deck, long walks, swimming, and of course, ice cream.

Get out and enjoy this beautiful day anyway you choose.