Slow Down

As September has burst into our lives, the internet world is abuzz with people {mostly females, let's be honest} gushing over how excited they are for Autumn's impending arrival. "Cozy sweaters! Crisp fall air! Pumpkin Spice Lattes! Leaves turning the most brilliant golden shades!"  I freely admit that I always share this same excitement each time September rolls around. It is my favorite of the four seasons, after all, and I have a sort-of love affair with all of the things Autumn encompasses.

Except this year. This year, I am in no hurry to see summer leave. I think there are a myriad of reasons for my sentiments right now:

1. This has been one of the loveliest summers, weather-wise, that I can remember in a long time. It has been mostly in the low to mid eighties with only a fair amount of humidity. {For those of you not familiar--MI summers can be incredibly hot but worst of all, humid like you cannot even imagine. It truly makes being outside miserable when it gets like that}. For a fair-skinned, red-haired gal like me, it's been my ideal summer weather. I feel that this pleasantly mild summer was a special treat after this past seemingly-eternal, bitterly cold and snowy winter.

2. It's our first real summer to enjoy exploring the outdoors with Makenna. Last summer Makenna was too little to spend much time outside, plus last summer was miserably hot and humid. Our pediatrician didn't want us to apply sunscreen to Makenna until after she turned six months last year (on August 11th), so we were really limited as to our amount of time in the sun with her {read: NONE}.

3. The end of August came and went much too quickly this year. In fact, I feel a little robbed of time. Once we had the flood happen on the 11th of August, things got crazy and time became a blur. First we had to deal with the basement renovation. Then Makenna went for mini-getaways with her two sets of grandparents and just when I got her back, she became horribly ill will a tummy-bug that took days and days to shake. In fact, she's still not quite back to her old self yet.

Now that our calendar is slowing down considerably, I am anxious to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of the remaining warm days. It really is a first for me--not to feel anxious to see summer go and embark upon some mild and chillier fall days. I desperately want more time to play in our kiddie pool, to enjoy our garden, to sit outside and feel warm breezes brush my skin, to go to the park, and to walk to the nearby ice cream stand.

Taking advantage of the little last bits of summer may even mean putting off projects I've been working on, or even spending less time here on this blog for now. I feel certain that I won't regret it once we no longer have a choice but to stay indoors as the days get colder and winter makes its debut.

I'll welcome Autumn with open arms when it arrives this year, but until it does, I'll be relishing every remaining day that still feels like summer is with us.