Okay, it's official, three more weeks until Autumn begins. Where has the summer gone?
Sunrise, sunset,
Sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly flow the days.
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers,
Blossoming even as we gaze.
Sunrise, sunset,
Sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly fly the years,
One season following another,
Laden with happiness and tears.
This song (from Fiddler on the Roof)
is often sung at weddings when parents marvel at how fast their children have
grown. But these specific lyrics keep running through my head as I look back on
how fast the seasons change.
Okay to be honest my summer was a bit
of a bummer anyway, starting with my sister's passing and then my recuperating
from a nasty cold and cough (yes, I am vaccinated and still took a Covid test —
negative thank goodness!). For both reasons I never even got to go swimming
this year 😢 (yes, all things considered, that is a minor loss…).
It seems
like soooooo loooong ago that we were all carefree WITHOUT the need of masks or
vaccinations; and while 2020 certainly did drag on unbearably I look at all my
loved ones and see how many years have passed so quickly.
In my mind I
can still see my children as adorable babies who clung to me and begged to be
carried everywhere. And now I look at my fully grown ADULT offspring and see
them as wise and decent human beings with responsible jobs, loving life
partners, capable of taking care of themselves and others, and sometimes even taking
care of their OLD parents. They grew up so fast!
The
seasons just keep rushing by!
Next week is Rosh Hashanah… it is so early this year (in the Gregorian calendar). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, it is time to reflect on all that has gone before and all that we look forward to. It is a time for all of us to reflect on WHO we are and WHAT we have done, apologize (SINCERELY!) to those we have wronged, and forgive those who have wronged us. It is a new beginning, in a way. But even with a new beginning, there is no way to go back and steal some yesterdays to relive.
In
such a period when we are encouraged to examine what we have done and possibly
change what we should do, it is even more obvious how time has flown by.
It is just
three weeks until the official end of summer…
