The Summer Breeze
I always feel a little melancholy when summer starts to draw to a close. The heat and humidity have subsided and the crispness of the changing season starts to emerge. The days start to shorten and the inevitable pull into fall begins. Prepared or not, it bears down on us and waits for no one. Maybe that is why time feels like it speeds up every year, because we can’t keep pace with it. It’s relentless march wears us out and we are let in its wake, wondering where all those years went.
This year, time has taken its toll, and the mess that needs to be cleaned up is the unfinished project list that clutters my mind. Even though it is not even September, it feels like I am at a crossroads for this year’s list. Can I plow in and make some headway or throw in the towel and go at it again next year?
Wait a minute! It is only 2/3 of the way through the year! Come on, let’s get going!
But isn’t this the “pressure” that paralyzed the situation to begin with? What is on my list anyway? Maybe I should start there. Okay, deep breath . . . move the list from my head to paper, then start to employ an approach that I am at least making some progress. Pick something and finish it. It does not matter the size of the job, just complete it. The weekends are perfect for this. The weekdays are bonus days. I would not expect to get a lot done during the week, so the pressure is minimized if I get some things done then. Once I do this, I think I can maximize my time and reduce the stress by at least finishing something.
There, I feel better now. I think I am going to celebrate my accomplishment by going to the fair – if I have time.
Where have all the people gone?
I started observing this the last couple of years, and this year is starting out in a very similar fashion. That is, how come when I go outside, the neighborhood seems deserted? Garage doors closed, no kids running around, silence. I am a little unnerved by the whole thing. Where is everyone? I know my neighbors have kids, so why aren’t they outside? What is everyone doing? I have a few ideas, but it isn’t any more settling.
When I grew up, we hung around with all the kids that were in a couple block radius of the house. The neighborhood was an extension of the family. It was our extended family. Everyone looked out for each other and we knew all the parents.
Now, I don’t even know the kids next door. They are my kids’ age, but no connection. I rarely even see them. It is not often that kids in the neighborhood even hang around with each other.
One of the reasons for this, I think, is because we as parents plan every aspect of our kids’ lives. Being home is down time. Everything they do is “organized”, especially sports. Go look at the local baseball diamonds or hockey rinks. Do you ever see any kids there just playing a pick-up game? Rarely, if ever . . .
As a result, families are busier than ever – away from home. I think kids need to be able to explore, play, grow, and form friendships and bonds that are a product of their childhood. Neighbors need to interact with each other and not act as collection of strangers living in close proximity with each other.
We have lived in our house for close to 7 years and I still don’t even know my next door neighbor. It is a sad ommision. I just hope we can return to the days where we once again connect with each other in ways that were once commonplace. Where our kids can know the joys of just being a kid, doing those things that kids do without the constant organized & scheduled oversight of the ever vigilent parent.