It is June 25th – how did this happen? The summer solstice has just passed, the longest day of the year and now the days are getting shorter. Already.

Every year, when the first warm days appear, I say to myself and others, “I am not going to miss this summer. I am going to take advantage of the sun, the warmth, the longer days.”

And, then, before I know it, I look up and summer has gone.

I live for the warm weather. I can feel my body opening to the sun and the heat. I want to be out in the world, working in the yard, laying in the sun, sitting at the sidewalk cafes. All winter I am cold. My body and mind are closed. I make the smallest movements possible, not to expose myself to the elements. I go quickly from home to car to office back home again, stopping nowhere unless I absolutely have to.

For so many years, I have been consumed by my job, by the work that seems so very important at the time, before I have had time to fully appreciate it, summer is gone and the cold and snow is just around the corner.

It’s only June 25th and already I am dreading the end of summer. Maybe I could show up this year and take advantage of the sun and heat and not just think longingly about what I missed again.