Ways to Welcome Summer

It's a busy time of year. Kids are finishing up the school year, there are graduation ceremonies and parties, families are making travel plans, people are getting their boats out of storage and on the water, and the beach is filling up in our lakefront town.

Our family has been busy celebrating milestones as our youngest has graduated from high school and plans to be out-of-state for college in the fall. It's an exciting, full, and bittersweet time as children grow and move on to the next grade or the next chapter.

Even those without kids feel the change in the season. Not only has the weather warmed here in the Midwest (finally!) and our gardens have blossomed, but tourists are flocking in, our downtown main street is lively, out-of-door dining spots are full, you can smell the BBQ grills on the weekends, and as I sit here on my front porch so many are biking or strolling by.

We are so ready for summer. After a long winter, we've seen people and plants slowly emerge from slumber throughout the spring, but now the earth has warmed and so have we, fully blossoming and stretching our faces to the sun to enjoy all that this season has to offer.