By G. E. Shuman
Okay!
It looks like spring and summer may finally be upon us here in the lovely state
of Vermont. After waiting only six or seven months, (sorry if that sounded
snide) the grass is finally green, the leaves are out, bees and lawnmowers are
buzzing around, and my family is actually planning a day at the beach. Wow!
I
love this time of year in our beautiful state. I even look forward to caring
for the lawn and outdoor plants and generally sprucing up the outside of our
home. The excitement for those things will soon wear off, but they’re fun for
me, for now. Fortunately, they will soon be followed by some great family times
for us.
Spring
and summer events don’t have to be exotic or expensive. In fact, cookouts,
campfires, fishing trips, and fireworks are just some of the simple things that
my favorite family memories are made of. Our biggest adventures are usually
quick trips to the coast of Maine to stroll along the rocky shore and through
village gift shops. These are the more ‘extravagant’ timeless ‘times’ that my
family continues to enjoy.
I
have shared here before about the sunny strolls and quiet picnics my wife and I
have grown to cherish during the short summer months here in the North. Our wicker picnic basket, (I have told you
before, every couple needs to own one of those. If you don’t have one, go get
one.) is filled at least a few times each summer and placed on the back seat of
my elderly VW Beetle for a slow trip through either the Green Mountains or the
White Mountains in search of just the right spot for our picnic that day.
This
summer is a very special one for me and for my wife, and one in which we might
need to do a little extra celebrating. I’m sure this is information you don’t
need to know, but we are both retiring within the next few weeks. If this is
something you have already done, you probably understand our excitement about
it. If retirement is many years away for you, you can look forward to it, but
don’t trade even one moment to make it come sooner. Enjoy today.
Our
plan, if we have one at all, is to do a little traveling around our great
country, to spend time with the grandkids before they’re grown, and to just
enjoy the time that we have together. We want to have some fun in the sun,
enjoy a beautiful northern fall, and then settle in (Lorna uses the words ‘hunker
down’, but to me, that sounds like something Sumo Wrestlers do, and seems a
little gross.) for another Vermont winter. Mostly we want to follow the advice
I gave you in the last paragraph. We want to simply enjoy today.
