reason for the season

I grew up around a couple of small towns with various small town summer traditions like festivals, little league, parades, garage and sidewalk sales, fund raisers, tractor pulls, 4-H fairs, bon fires and cook outs. Everyone hibernates in the winter and we slowly creep out from the woodwork come spring and it seems like life and fun instantly begins. What is it about summer that makes us all seem like we are alive? Is it the warm weather? All the activities? It just always feels so different than the rest of the other three seasons. It's not necessarily my favorite season weather wise but I do enjoy all the traditional activities mentioned above.

Winter drags on and spring trickles in while summer starts and ends with the blink of an eye with it's seemingly stereotypical timeline. April comes along with the rain and farmers in the fields. May brings us planting our annual flowers, graduation parties (and my birthday - WOO HOO!) and the beginning of wedding season. June. June is pretty much the calm before the storm of summer but we always wonder where it goes. You never know if it's going to be cool, warm or hot and we never really know what it really should be. The first cutting of hay has passed and the 2nd cut is on it's way. Corn is usually knee high (despite the old saying) with wheat harvest in full gear and before we know, it the 4th of July has come and gone with corn practically over our knees and above our heads. Well, at least above my head anyways. We fly through July by the seat of our pants with all the county fairs, weddings and sunburns. I have no idea how we do it all sometimes. August arrives and kids are getting ready for going back to school and farmers are getting equipment ready for harvest. Before we know it, it's September. The end of summer. That moment where you don't know whether to put on a t-shirt or a hooded sweatshirt.

It's crazy to think about how much of our lives are ran by the seasons. I am sure it gets worse when you have children, too. Just as we are starting to recover from the hustle bustle and heat of summer, we find ourselves knee deep in harvest and once harvest slows down we are back to hustle and bustle getting around for the holidays and out come the ugly Christmas sweaters. Sometimes I wish we could just do seasons every other year. Maybe take a break. Then I think about how boring life may be without seasons and holidays. From sweet corn, to autumn wreaths to Christmas trees we are constantly influenced by seasons and holidays. We work our months away just to get to that next holiday that will allow us a long weekend of time off with family and friends.

Walmart and Hobby Lobby are the worse when it comes to pushing seasons and holidays. Seasons are their big money maker. Halloween stuff starts showing up after the 4th of July and then we find ourselves Christmas shopping on Halloween. I barely had all my annuals out and Hobby Lobby already had some of their autumn displays out. I love mums but I don't know if I am ready for fall just quite yet. We haven't even been to a tractor pull this year! We are constantly asking ourselves where all the time has gone?

Where has it gone? We focus so much on loss time that we don't focus on the present. Time wasn't loss. It was just overlooked. So what if you don't make it to that festival you always go to or missed the big parade. Heck, there's always next year. Literally.

I feel like we as a society are causing ourselves to be more busy and overwhelmed than what we should be. I know it's not Christmas where the famous saying "The reason for the season" always comes out but lately I have been trying to remind myself the reason for the season no matter what time of year it is. The seasons are here for a reason. Sort of as a life guide if you will. Everyone always asks God for the instruction manual to life. I think he gave it to us. We just need to slow down and read it.

And not listen to Walmart.