summer...

There's something inexplicably invigorating about the smells of summer. Maybe it's just the nostalgia of it all - how certain smells just bring back memories of being a carefree kid and not worrying about anything except when the sunset was bringing the day to an end. Or maybe it's just the unfortunate brevity of summer that makes every scent, every scene, every moment seem that much sweeter.

The other day, I was going for a run after work. It was pushing 80 degrees, the sun was low in the sky, the streets were busy with people on their way home from their jobs. As I ran down side streets, along yards and gardens, I was struck by the wonderful smells that so define summertime. The sweetness of freshly cut grass, the delicious waft of savory smoke from the grill, the pungent smell of water from the sprinkler on hot pavement. These smells truly do define summer both now and in the past... They brought a punch of homesickness - not for home, but for that feeling of being carefree, relaxed, having no expectations of the day to come but only for the present.

Being an adult definitely changes the view with which we see summer. Now we rush through the week to get to the weekend and then we unintentionally pack the weekend with so many things we want to do that the weekend goes by doubly as fast and we are suddenly back to the doldrums of the work week again.

I like being able to spend the evenings relaxing with my husband, sitting on our back step, enjoying a beer together while he grills dinner, relishing the fleeting moments of summer that will soon be replaced with cooler days, changing leaves and other signs of autumn.

But for now, it is summer... and I love every scent of it.