It’s Summertime. Full-fledged, middle of July no-going-back Summertime. The days are warm, the sun is up longer, the crickets are in full concert mode after dark. And I love it!

Although, after the Fourth of July, there seems to be that big exhale, kind of like a little bird on your shoulder reminding you that something will inevitably end. Already the sun is going down earlier. When I was growing up, the three months of summer were a blissful eternity filled with bike rides, trips to Pacific Beach and the sound of my friends playing in the street. I was so lucky to have grown up in San Diego and to have a pocketful of memories about Summer.

For a few years, I got to relive summer with my kids. There were fishing trips, pool parties, summer sleepovers and visits to the beach where a Saturday was filled with the sound of kids and waves. What a treat it was to see summer through my kids. It was different in some ways. My old transistor radio gave way to my iPhone and I had to invest in sunscreen, something I never wore as a kid. This summer is particularly bittersweet, my son goes off to college in the fall, and my first born will have spread his wings.

Summer carries its own sights smells and sounds. If you close your eyes (after reading this) and imagine it you can almost be there.

That distant small plane engine buzzing in the background…

Just the faint sound of children and waves and the smell of coconut lotion…

The sight of the midway at the county fair and the smells from each food vendor as you walk by…

The muted pop of fireworks over Sea World at night…

The smell of smoldering charcoal and the taste of potato salad. Really cold potato salad is the best! Those are some of the things that I remember and love about Summer.

And so it’s back to work.

I look down at my desk sometimes and I don’t know where to start. I look up at pictures of my kids and smile. One still at home, one beginning their life as a college student with new found adult freedoms. I won’t let time get away too quickly without celebrating a Summer memory with them.