A BIG BLACK FRENCH COUNTRY CLOCK
MARKS SUMMER TIME
Summer solstice arrived with its greatest number of sunlight hours per day. Summer . . . we looked forward to you, anticipated your arrival with great happiness. A season of joy cultivated in childhood as school dismissed for summer vacation each year.
Looking forward to summer is so ingrained in us, we continue to feel the joy each summer even though we do not have a long summer break from our jobs.
Time seems to move more slowly in summer at our house. Is it a mind trick caused by more hours of daylight?
Are the hands of the big black French Country clock on the kitchen table moving more slowly?
Or is it just more sunlight time to spend in the garden, on the beach, or on the porch before darkness settles, calling a close to another day.
A little wistful sigh escaped me when I realized with a start the days are growing shorter. I stopped mid stride for an instant.
Summer is already ticking away even though it has just begun.
That is, the number of daylight HOURS are decreasing. Each day still has 24 hours, just more of them will be covered in darkness with each coming day.
We are already counting down the hours of sunlight per day, but summer temperatures have just begun to heat up.
As quickly as the realization of summer's fleeting hours of sunlight stopped me, came the realization summer time is not limited by the sunshine hours in the day.
Summer time is a state of MIND much more than a state of TIME.
That is why we joyfully anticipate its arrival.
Summer is a time for rejuvenation, letting go, living with carefree abandon, and closing the books on the previous year. Another by-product of years of living on a school schedule where there is a definite closure before new beginnings in September.
With each summer day comes time to spend with family and friends enjoying the moment instead of living by a time schedule marked by a clock.
The clock is just a reminder of where the earth is on its path, circling on its axis.
What do you LOVE most about summer?
