Not-So-Endless Summer

As I was walking the dog one recent night—at 8 p.m., in the dark—I heard geese flying overhead. Though I couldn’t see them, I’m sure they were flying in their trademark “V” formation, just as they were in the daylight earlier in the week, practicing for their trip south for the winter.

The honking birds and my walk in what would have been barely dusk a few short weeks ago are two of the many reminders popping up to signal the end of summer. I looked at the calendar and realized we’ll probably only squeeze in one or two more trips to the pool before it closes for the season. And have you noticed how has been selling Halloween candy for a couple weeks now? I guess the writing is on the wall, and on the bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups that won’t stop calling my name.

I have to say that the change of seasons is deflating me this year. The older I get, the more I spend the fall and winter rooting for spring and summer to return, and with each passing year, the warm weather months zip by faster than I ever thought possible.

Remember when you were a kid and summer seemed like it would go on forever? June took its time ebbing into July, and July was in no hurry to melt into August. I suppose August has always gone by too quickly, with the specter of school looming large and ticking away like a time bomb. But what is it about getting older and time going by so much faster?

I noticed this phenomenon before becoming a parent, but I have to say that parenthood has made time go by at more of a breakneck pace. How did our firstborn get to be a bona fide preschooler? How did the baby morph from the trembling, panicked 7-pound infant the doctor placed on my chest not so long ago into a crawling busybody who wouldn’t dream of taking a nap in my arms? For them, I want time to march on and for their worlds to keep getting bigger. But selfishly, for me, I would prefer to linger where we are right now. I’d like the Halloween candy to stay in the Hershey’s warehouse for just a little while longer.