Today is our last day of summer before the school year starts back. I feel like we've lived this season fully, and I have lots to post here to catch up and document all the adventures we planned and shared over the long sunny days that made up these last couple of months.
This morning, though, I'm thinking about the unplanned moments. The little unexpected bits of happiness that will linger in my brain and represent the best of what this summer offered.
Smiling faces on a train.
A funnel cake (my first) unceremoniously shared in a sweltering car still parked in the Six Flags lot.
Dancing with Matt (because music) in a ballroom full of strangers. Oblivious to the crowd.
Long roadtrip talks with Erik while Matt napped in the back seat. Reminders of why we're best friends.
Live music, heard and followed, which led to a community concert surprise.
The sounds of my too-loud family members telling stories in the hotel room next door, transporting me back to all the summer nights I lay in bed at my grandparents' house hearing those same voices float up from the downstairs kitchen to tell me everything in the world was just fine.
I am so thankful for these memories and for the mindfulness of summer that allowed me to catch them and sear them onto my heart.
Since I was very young, the calendar in my mind has always ebbed and flowed along school year lines, so I feel the new of a new school year in August far more acutely than I feel the new calendar year in January. My wish for this new year is that I carry with me that mindfulness, make plans for big adventures, but keep a weather eye out for the little moments.
Thank you, summer.
Happy new year.
