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Rochester Local

On Mosquitos, Summer and Life

 

mosquitoOn one of the first hot days of the year, I overheard several people complaining that it was too hot.  I, admittedly, may have been one of them.  Then tonight, I scratched and scratched at the spot where a little blood-sucking twerp of a bug maimed my arm, and I was fully annoyed and thinking, “I hate summer.”  But after a few minutes of negative internal dialogue, I put an end to my pity party and asked myself, “Why am I ALREADY cursing summer?”  I’ll tell you why…

It’s because of the moment when you get your first mosquito bite, and you suddenly wish it was 30 degrees and snowing because part of your arm is swollen and scabbed over from your incessant scratching, and you don’t feel like wearing that strapless dress after all.  Or how about when your kids come home from daycare and their hair looks like Cameron Diaz from Something About Mary because the chemical free sunscreen only comes in one consistency: paste.  And yes, hair DOES need sunscreen.  It’s during these moments when you’re thinking that the dark, short days of winter and ten layers of clothing is not all bad.

You give baths every day in the winter to rid the germs and you CANNOT wait for that regimen to be over, but then you find yourself thrust back in when your toddler comes home with every microscopic crease filled with dirt.  You’re thankful you’re not lugging around boots, mittens and hats, but now you’re lifting 30 pound strollers in and out of the trunk like it’s your dang job.  And yes, that IS a rubber tire mark on my new white dress, thanks for noticing.  It literally feels like you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

Maybe – JUST maybe – it’s time to stop wishing away the season because the grass is greener on the other side of the seasonal calendar.  No pun intended…I think.

I’m so thankful I get to raise my children in a part of the country where the four seasons do exist.  The Winter months bring so much joy with the magical snow and the curiosity and love that surround the holidays.  The Spring brings back new life – the excitement surrounding the warmer and longer days.  The fresh bulbs and the budding trees; proof that life does exist after the Winter doldrums – the hibernation period.  The Summer, with the humidity clad curls and the bare skin.  The imaginations and spirits running free.  The outdoor concerts, the adventures, the many walks.  And then the Fall, with its crisp cool nights and that yummy smell that’s nearly indescribable (apple crisp?  falling leaves?).  Your children are a year older and inches taller.  Your family has grown in not only size, but in seized moments of life.  Experiences have built memories and knowledge and a newly found sense of togetherness.

I propose that the seasons of weather are like the seasons of life.  Challenging?  Sure.  Hard at times?  Of course.  But let’s embrace life for what it is: a beautiful display of change, evolution, and meaning.  Let’s take the tough times and not curse them, but rather embrace them.  Everything is temporary, everything comes and goes.  Little annoying and fleeting moments don’t have to be anything more than that.  It’s time to think big picture, stop cursing the moments and wishing for a better alternative.  So, sure you can swear and kick and scream at the stroller and the brown-tinted bath water as it comes flying towards your face, but don’t get caught up in the tough moments and wish the time away.

Summer is here, mamas!  Embrace it, love it, live it.

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