We had some lovely days here in Southwest Missouri to bring May to an end, and now maybe we’re ready for June. Summer will arrive soon and probably hot, humid weather, as well, but we can look back and remember how the beautiful spring days made us smile and look forward to fall and the cool down. But, wait! No! Let’s bask in summer’s offerings: trees leafed out, bright flowers in bloom, fresh produce from the farmers’ market, lush grass to walk on barefoot, coats and jackets stored away for a few months, so many things! I do love, when I go out, to just open the door, slip my feet into sandals and step out without thinking of grabbing a coat and bundling up.

I don’t know what my summer will bring, but I’m ready to get started. Are you? My mom’s birthday is in June, so I will be meeting my sisters in Illinois, where she lives, for her 91st birthday. No party, she doesn’t want a party, just family time with lots of talk and some laughter and love. It’s quite a milestone that she has entered her 90s, and we celebrate each day of her continuing life.

There will be some short excursions with friends. I have several small groups of women friends with whom I like to spend time doing different things. We like to get together for a variety of events and games and just visiting, which always culminates with food! It doesn’t matter the season; we just have fun sharing our lives and stories and being together.

Here is a poem I’ve written, which is my take on the four seasons we have here in the Ozarks:

Seasons

Seasons come one at a time,
each with its own pleasures,
joys, activities –
and downsides, too,

but we are better
when we take them as they come,
enjoying the variety they bring
and just living within them.

The year begins in winter,
cold, dark, but with crisp, fresh air
and opportunities to spend time indoors
with books and music and friends.

Then spring begins to bloom;
flowers come back to life,
grass grows thick and green,
and trees wake up, putting out their leaves.

Summer arrives with its myriad outdoor activities
and heat to warm our bodies and souls,
shade from trees, a welcome respite,
and fresh produce bulging from our bags.

Finally, fall drifts in, a mixed bag of weather,
but mostly relief from summer’s blast,
colors bursting from trees then falling to the ground,
and cool nights where we can rest.

Seasons are the backdrops of our lives,
hovering around us,
giving us a context for our beingness
and practice for change.

© 2023 Dorothy A Joslyn

 

Write about your favorite season. What do you like about it? What are some of the activities you do in that season?

How about summer? What do you like and dislike? What fun things do you do in the summer?

Write about friendships: things you do together, secrets your reveal to your best friend, things about individual friends you like and/or admire.