Mother Nature has been teasing us lately with a taste of summer weather. You may remember the week in April when we saw temps in the 80’s and even had a day when we reached 90 degrees. I refer to this period as “fake spring,” when we have moderate temps for a few days, and then we wake up with temps in the high 40’s and low 50’s. Now that we are in May, we are seeing temperatures more typical for May, and have days like today, when the temperature is in the high 70’s and approaching 80 degrees. I don’t mind this moderation, because I know this is typical Chicago weather; spring weather one day, and the next day your thinking of putting on the air conditioner or a warm jacket. It has been that way all my life, and if you have been a Midwesterner as long as I have, you are used to these sudden changes in the weather.
I have friends who will tell you that Winter in Chicago last six months; you get maybe two months of Fall, a month or so of Spring (including Fake Spring), and then possibly three month of summer. While those three months seem to come and go quickly, many of us treasure our summer months, when everything around us seems to be renewed. Our lawns turn a beautiful green, our plants bloom with lovely colors, our homes are filled with fresh air, and our neighborhoods come alive with the sound of children playing, outdoor barbecues, neighbors visiting one another and all of us exchanging our Winter wear for shorts, sandals and all around more comfortable clothing. We appear to be renewed as much as the environment around us as we appear to see the world around us in a better light.
You have probably guessed that summer is my favorite time of year; for me, summer holds all kinds of possibilities. It is as Charles Bowden states, "Summertime is always the best of what might be." As we enter the summer months, my hope for all of you is that you get to enjoy Nature’s beauty in all its glory, and that you have an opportunity to feel a sense of renewal and a chance to experience that which you have never attempted before in your life. Happy summertime to all of you!