SOUNDS OF SUMMER

When my children were little, we would begin the first day of summer getting ready for the summer.

I remember the Hale Bop summer the best I suppose because it was so spectacular in comparison to others...but they were all spectacular.

School is out. The days are mild. The nights are mild. The days are full of excitement of things to come.

Everyone grabs a blanket and a pillow and we head to the trampoline. We all get comfortable and then....

"no one say a word"..I say...listen....listen...let's listen to the sounds of summer...

all the little voices are still and they listen...and then they describe what they hear....

a cricket

a mosquito buzzing by my ear

laughter down the street

traffic from the nearby highway

the wind blowing through the locust tree above us

trampoline springs squeaking

a dog barking in the distance

a neighbor's windchimes

and we lay there together as the dusk turns into night and as

"the stars pop out" one by one...

and so we begin our summer...listening...to the simple simple simple sounds that I will never forget.