Summer Sads

Before I got all crazy about Hurricane Harvey, I started feeling what I call the "Summer Sads." I was wondering when this would set in again - it seemed to skip over me the last two summers. But for most of my adult life, I still got the Back-to-School Blues, even though I haven't gone back to school in ages and I have perpetual summer now that I live in Florida. Yet something just feels...over.

This is how I feel when Labor Day comes and goes.

Maybe the Summer Sads are back because I've been watching too much depressing shit on Netflix. So on a positive note, at least Stranger Things will be back soon. And we are getting into my most favorite time of year - Pumpkin everything!!! (Although I have yet to decide how I'm going to handle pumpkin everything. I had a pumpkin coffee from Dunkin Donuts, and it really wasn't as exciting as I remembered it. Not worth it.)

But I feel reminded about all the things I wanted to do that I just didn't get to, and there's not enough time to cram it in with only three weeks before summer officially ends. And all of the better parts of summer are behind me, and I just need to get into the mindset of homework and early morning bus rides again. Err... that's not right. I need to get into the mindset of fighting off the two H's: Hurricanes and Halloween candy.

That isn't exactly what has me down.

Each season is a metaphor for life, which reminds me how fleeting it all really is. Spring: your childhood, where everything is fresh and new. Summer: your best years, still young and free. And here I am, coming to the end of the summer of my life. Sure, there's beauty in fall, but... things just start falling apart. Cooling off. The sun doesn't shine as brightly and your days are so much shorter.

There's some beauty in winter, too, I must remember. When you look at winter with the eyes of a child, it's full of wonder. Only through the wisdom of adulthood does winter bring misery. It's one of a few reasons why I said "peace out" to New Jersey a few years ago.

Of course, some of us don't even make it to winter. I could be outside walking my dog tomorrow and this could all be over. We act like we have all the time in the world, but you don't know. You just don't know. You can only hope.

And, ya know, do everything within your power to try to keep your summer going for as long as possible. Eat right. Exercise appropriately. Try not to stress out too much. That sorta thing.

It's hard not to stress when you've got the "End of Days" staring you in the face again, though. Just as we were putting in our last palm tree in our new landscaping last week, Ben and I got the news that Hurricane Irma was potentially coming our way, so that was excellent timing #sarcasm. And now it's looking very likely that we're going to get hit.