I was sitting out on my back stoop about a week ago, taking a break from doing some yard work. As I sat there drinking my iced tea and watching the birds and butterflies, my attention drifted to the cloud formations and then to the way the sun "winked" through the leaves of the trees to form lacy shadows on the grass below the tree. The cool breeze felt even cooler blowing through my wet hair and lightly touching my sweat-soaked t-shirt. The smells of the first fall leaves on the ground and the damp soil brought back many wonderful memories. Suddenly, the questions ran through my head ... "Where do the summers go? Why do they seem to appear and disappear within only a few short weeks?"

     I remembered the many summers of my childhood. Those summers seemed to last forever! As soon as school was out for the year, the fun began. How can I ever forget playing in the local creek, the daily (so it seems) pick-up baseball games, and riding my bike until the last minute before I just had to be home? Mom had a hard and fast rule ... when the streetlamps came on, I had better be on the front porch. However, unless there was something to do as a family, the time between waking in the morning and those streetlamps coming on was mine to do almost anything my heart desired. And I took full advantage of those summer days. Even though some kids may consider sitting still for hours at a time staring at the clouds or watching the shadows dance on the ground a waste of time, I also did a lot of those things. There were also the nights for sleep-overs, and those not inside the house. I'd go to a friend's house or they would come to mine and we'd spread our sleeping bags out on the porch and sleep there, after long hours of laying there talking about the day. Each of those summer days seemed to be weeks long and the summer itself to be a year.

     But not now. Where do the summers go? As I sat there on the stoop, I asked myself, "summer just started last week didn't it?" No, not really, it's already the end of September. How did that happen? I mean, just last week I was still waiting for the warmth of spring ... well, it seems like it was just last week. What a waste! The whole summer flew by and here I am getting the house ready for the cold winds of winter. Why? When did summers shrink from a few months to a few weeks? Then I realized, it's all my fault. Summers are still at least three months long. I just get so wrapped up in the adult routine of waking up, going to work, coming home to even more work and projects, and then going to bed. There are no creeks to play in, no ball games to play, and no bikes to ride. There's just not enough time. Or is there?

     This may sound childish or fanciful, but I want my summers back ... real summers. Summers of creeks, ball games, and bikes. I want summers of picturing animals in the clouds and shadows that really danced on the ground. I want to catch fireflies in the yard and eat ice cream in a cone on the dark front porch. Sure, I may not be able to get a three month vacation away from work the same way I did from school, but I can reclaim those summer days and nights after work to do ... well ... nothing. Or at least nothing important. I think it's time I stop taking my whole life so seriously and start being a kid again.

     So can I really reclaim summers and make them any longer? Summer will always be but a few months long, but at least I should be able to enjoy those days for those few months instead of only the isolated time when I may be taking a break from yard work. My neighbors may think I've lost my mind, but I'm going to play in the rain and splash in the puddles. I'm going to climb a tree or roll in the grass. I'm going to catch fireflies and butterflies just to watch them crawl on my hand. I'm going to turn over rocks to see what lives under them. I'm going to blow the "fuzz" off dandelions even though I'll have more grow in my yard. And yes, I'm going to see the animals in the clouds and the shadows really dancing under the trees. Could life be any better? I don't think so.