July 30, 2019
Making the Most of Summer
By Mary Schricker Gemberling
I can’t believe I am writing an August article already. Where has the summer gone? I know that summer 2019 is officially that time between June 21st & September 23rd, but most of us hope that we get at least another 60 days or so of summer-like weather. I do remember my mother saying the time went faster and faster as she aged. For me I think it’s this panicky feeling that I still have so, so much I want to do with a lingering fear that I won’t always have the health, energy or desire to pursue. But back to summer…..it’s without a doubt my favorite season of the year. I like it so much that I go south in the winter in an effort to grasp a few more weeks of summer-like weather and lifestyle.
So why summer over winter? I think it partly stems over memories of my childhood growing up in St. Louis. Anyone who has visited there in the summer has probably experienced the intense heat and humidity! To escape the heat my friends and I would spend almost every day at the community pool. As a family, we spent many of our evenings on our screened porch at the rear of our shaded yard. In a time when air conditioning was not the norm our meals, our clothing, our activities all lent to our effort to stay cool. Sometimes we would take Sunday drives in the country where it seemed cooler away from the congestion and steamy concrete. All in all, life just seemed simpler in the summer months.
As I grew up and had a family of my own, my love for summer became even more intense. I loved living in the country just west of Davenport and three of my favorite things about my career choice as a teacher were June, July, and August. I planted both flowers and vegetables and spent hours tending them. My sons were always outside, either exploring somewhere on the farm, swimming in our backyard pool or playing basketball in the corn crib. Even in later years when I moved into Davenport I continued to garden, and take walks or ride my bike on the trail near my house.
Since I re-married and moved to central Illinois back to country living, I continue to love summer. With virtually no schedule to follow in my retirement years, I rise each summer morning, don my comfortable t-shirt and shorts, and head outside to once again play in my vegetables and flowers. I love trying out new recipes with the fruits of my labor. My screened porch is one of my favorite places to read or maybe write my monthly articles for this publication. Gary and I have taken to going on long drives (not always on Sundays) with the top down on the convertible exploring the surrounding area attractions. Last week we drove to Arthur and Arcola, an interesting area home to the largest population of Amish in Illinois. We decided we needed to return again and visit some of the museums to learn more about this fascinating way of life (excellent fodder for a future article).
Yesterday we drove our RV for about an hour and a half north to Oglesby to explore the area. We hiked a couple of trails at Mathieson State Park, a beautiful gem here in central Illinois. Today we awoke to the sounds of rain but we will not let it dampen our spirits. When the inclement weather moves out we are heading to the visitor’s center at Starved Rock hopefully explore a bit of that park. You see, “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
Gary and I are fortunate to be able to enjoy these summers in the sunset of our lives and as the time goes faster and our list of things to do and places to go grows longer, we have no intention of stopping….at least if God willing!
Here is a list of things to do before summer is over:
1. Go camping
2. Attend an outdoor concert
3. Pick fresh flowers
4. Make S’mores
5. Eat something deliciously bad for you at a county or state fair
6. Have a picnic
7. Plan a barbecue
8. Spend the day on a boat
9. Enjoy an outdoor movie
10. Read your favorite book in a park
11. Make popsicles
12. Be a tourist for a day
13. Take a hike
14. Watch a sunset
15. Go outside and volunteer
16. Go to a baseball game
17. Go swimming
18. Check out your local farmer’s market
19. Take a road trip
20. Catch fireflies in a jar
Mary, a former educator is the author of three books: The West End Kid, Labor of Love, and Hotel Blackhawk; A Century
of Elegance.
