Time Change

It probably should be less of a surprise to see June 1st on the calendar. There were 31 days in May to serve as a hint. Still, despite the daily reminders that May was marching along, it seems June has somehow arrived too quickly. It can be said with absolute certainty that the weeks between Spring Break and Summer Vacation were far longer when spent parked at a desk in Mr. Ryder's fourth grade class than those slipping by parked at a grown-up desk with no one grading penmanship. The offspring report that their days are still dragging slowly through the same weeks that have somehow escaped Mom. Mom is very ready to decelerate to the creeping pace described by those watching a school calendar for the start of Summer Vacation.

That change should hit in the next week or so. Time will flow quick as molasses once the Summer schedule truly arrives with late meals and later bedtimes as the sunsets extend our days past evening. The heat will make us slow, and the children will sleep in out of the conviction that they have nothing to do. Iced tea will be more appealing than coffee most days, and our skin will carry the chemical scents of mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Toes emerge from winter's socks to gain a splash of pretty polish before celebrating the freedom of a pair of flip flops. Even the household decor reflects this transition as hoodies and backpacks give way to beach towels and goggles on the hooks in the entry way. Curling up with a good book shifts to a poolside morning immersed in a favorite beach read. The pantry stocked with breakfast cereal and individually portioned foods suitable for lunch boxes is less appealing than the increasingly available seasonal produce. (Berry Season. Oh, I heart you, Berry Season.) This is the loveliest sort of transition--- the slide into Summer.