Embracing the Seasons: The Summer of 9, 5, and 2

I wrote this post four years ago in the summer of 2017. It is a simple reminder and encouragement for those needing to slow down, be present, and find the joy in the everyday . . .

The summer heat can often be unbearable in central and south Texas. The days are glaringly bright and filled with sweltering humidity and hot-air breezes.

As we settled into our new home, I found the heat settling in as well, deeper and deeper into the morning hours. I instantly began longing for the cooler days, the months of October, November, and December, my favorite time of the year, where I could open the windows and let in the coolness of the season.

“I can’t wait for fall,” I kept thinking to myself as the sun brightly shined into my eyes and sweat trickled down my back. I longed for pumpkin and cinnamon smells and ivory and red Christmas decor.

And then, somewhere in the midst of my thoughts, I heard laughter as our girls ran back and forth through the sprinkler. “Look, Mommy! Look! Look at us!”

I watched them in their floral bathing suits, their bare feet jumping in the midst of sprinkled water and wet, dewy grass.

I watched her chubby cheeks and tiny toes. I watched how her dark, brown hair stuck to her face as she smiled with her eyes shut and splashed the water toward herself. I listened to their giggles, their joy, their excitement, and I realized that these days would soon be gone before I knew it.

As I sat and longed for the next season, I realized how very much I had sat and done just that in the past. As a child, I couldn’t wait to grow up. Later, I couldn’t wait to drive or be out on my own. I couldn’t wait to graduate from college and start my new job. I couldn’t wait to get married or for our son to be born. I couldn’t wait to be done with morning sickness and pregnancies, couldn’t wait for the sleepless nights to end or for the diaper stage to be over.

But just like that, those days came and went.

All those things that I couldn’t “wait for” quickly passed, but the longing simply shifted to the next thing and the next. . . my heart was always elsewhere.

I wish I had known early on to walk in gratitude, to be fully present and embrace the blessings and gifts of each season.

It was in those days of waiting that so much life was lived, gracefully intertwined, often unnoticed.

I wish I had held on a little longer.

I wish I could feel my babies in my womb for one more day or remember what life was like when it was just my husband and me or when my young step-son would come to visit us during those summers. I wish I could carry my boy again or have him reach for my hand like he used to.

I wish I could hear my little girl’s voice, when she couldn’t say the “f” sound and replaced it with “p”. “This is pun!” or “That’s so punny!” I remember her saying. How I wish I could remember how she sounded.

I let so many of those days slip right through my fingers. In the midst of the heat or the discomfort, I didn’t give them the value that I should have. I grumbled or longed for something bigger, something more special.

And yet, it was right there in the middle of those seasons where my memories lay, nestled deeply in the mundane and everyday. It was in those quieter moments, when no one else was looking, that the most special of days were often lived, when growing and learning often took place.

It was in those spaces where the people I loved surrounded me. It was in those everyday interactions where our lives were being shared: the talks, the hugs, the laughter, and sometimes, the tears.

As I sat and watched our girls go back and forth, I realized that our son no longer found the sprinkler as exciting as he had just the year before. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before our 5 year-old felt the same way, and I wanted to stay there and soak it all in as long as I could.

Instead of longing for the months to come, I realized that where I was sitting was exactly where I needed to be, no longer waiting, simply living.

The Lord calls us to give thanks in everything, and I can now see how much more a grateful heart can truly receive His blessing.

Each day is such a precious gift, and there is always beauty to be found, even in the midst of ashes, hurt, and pain. . .

Even in "the heat."

In the midst of the heat and the discomfort and sometimes challenging days, this is the summer where our 9-year-old son found his love for music and played his electric guitar and drum set as he put on concerts for us all.

This is the summer where our 5-year-old daughter found joy in running with a trailing kite or riding on her bike with her legs in the air.

This is the summer where our 2-year-old daughter jumped for joy among the bubbles and pushed alongside her sister on her baby-pink tricycle.

This is the summer of cantaloupe slices and homemade ice cream, watermelon popsicles and Topo Chico. This is the summer of evening chats on the deck with my husband, soft music and an orchestra of cicadas playing in the background.

This is the summer the doe and her fawn grazed in our grasses, and the children found excitement in capturing bugs and insects of all sizes. This is the summer of wagon rides and rainbows, splash pads and playdates, the summer when we fed the ducks and waded in the river, jumped on the trampoline and swung through the trees.

This. Right here. Right now.

In the midst of the heat and the glaring, bright sun are these wonderful days and moments “in-between”. This is the summer of 9, 5, and 2. The summer of 23, and 39 and 43. The summer of 2017.

This is our summer, and I am so very grateful to be right in the middle of it.

God is so very good.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. -1 Thessalonians 5:18

What summer are you in?

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