Summer

I LOVE SUMMER! Yeah, yeah, you love it too, but I really love it. Summertime is magical, even for a 42-year-old. Summer means that Kim and the kids are home, so they get to sleep in. (Since this is Tod’s last summer before he leaves, I told Kim she was NOT going to work.) Some say that it is a bummer to have to get up when the rest of the family is sleeping, but it puts a smile on my face every morning to sneak out of the house at 6:45 with everyone still asleep. Part of the reason I am smiling is because I don’t have to make 4 lunches, find 2 pairs of shoes, turn over my ATM card to fill my sons’ gas tank or swing by school to drop off the cell phone my wife left on the counter. Part of the reason is that I can get up at 6:25, shower and shave, stop by 7-11 for a Big Gulp and be at work at 6:55. But the biggest reason is because I know the day will be filled with adventure and joy for the ones still sleeping. Sports camps, playing in the backyard for hours, swimming at friends, having dad come home for lunch, visiting with neighbors, falling asleep on the couch watching a movie and then starting it all over again.

I’ve always been a summer guy. From the days in Los Alamitos when we left the house in the morning and didn’t go home until we heard dad’s whistle at dusk, to working at my dad’s shop, clocking out at 3:30 and being on Lake Grapevine by 5:00. Craig’s Scout troop is going to work on their water skiing badge @ Grapevine this summer and I was reminiscing about the old days with another dad. We could ski for hours; jumping wakes, making rooster tails and always pushing to be a little better. Now I feel great if I can handle a 2-minute run without making a fool of myself. Lots of things have changed since those days – my perspective, my agility, my marital status, my weight, my income, my idea of fun, my priorities, my need for faith…

But the one thing that hasn’t is my love for summer. Well, it’s changed a little. The best part of summer used to be the adventures I went on, now it’s coming home at the end of the day and hearing about the adventures my boys went on.