My 10 year old daughter, Haley, looks up from her iPad, sighs, and asks, “Dad, why does summer go so fast?”

I laugh and say, ” Sweetie, I’ve been try to figure that out my whole life.”

Maybe I’m getting older, but summer seems to pass quicker each year.

If you’re like me, you started June thinking, I have all summer to clean the shed, paint the bedroom, read a book, get in shape and a bunch of other constructive things you reserved for summer.

But, almost without warning, summer happens.

It’s here and gone before we even started our chores.

So we shake our heads, as we take the kids Back to School shopping, and say, “I can’t believe Labor Day is next week. What happened to summer?”

The fact is summer, like all seasons, offers us a fixed window of time and that we are the solely responsible for.

I charged into this summer feeling strong and hugging possibility. I was training– running and going to the gym. My summer goal was to wage a physical war of my autoimmune disease. I was going to get strong as if I could flex the disease out of me.

If you’ve been reading, you know things were going well. I was training 5 days a week. Then my body, like Han Solo to Luke Skywalker, reminded me to not get cocky.

In the final week of summer I’m still feeling tired and “off”. I haven’t trained in two weeks but I’m seeing a chiropractor this week, hoping to align my nervous system and improve my balance issues.

I am looking forward to autumn. Looking to return to teaching and Saturday afternoons on the soccer field.  I’m optimistic that with a new season I’ll regain my sense of balance, resume training, and be “on” again.

But “off” times are just as important “on” times. Even though “on” times are great, it’s the “off” times that teach humility, resilience, and remind us the importance of gratitude.

“On”, “Off”–every season is valuable.  

28 summers separate Haley and I. And they don’t slow down sweetie. Summer always ends before you even get a chance to appreciate it. That’s life.

But maybe that’s what winter is for. Maybe the cold January night is only here to remind us to enjoy the warm July one.

Be well,

Jay