Summer’s End

I love summer. Not just the season – the longer days, the warmer nights, nature in full bloom – but what summer represents, the very idea of summer. The high point of the year, the celebration of life, the adventure and enthusiasm that rejuvenates the senses for another celestial cycle. Other seasons are good too, and have their highlights (and hijinks), but I think summer will always be my among my favourite times of year.

As another summer slips away, I’m inclined to look back at summers gone by and reflect on how much I’ve enjoyed them. Many of the best times of my life happened during summer, or at least during the years that dominate my memory. I mean, I’ve always enjoyed school as much as the next nerd, but still, during university years September was a wave of rapidly-building stress, culminating in some funny-only-in-retrospect Decembers. (Not to mention that Canadian winters, despite the obvious benefits of winter sports, can be downright nasty.)

So the times before September, before classes restarted, were always among the most enjoyable. Looking back, I think of my trip to Europe in 2002 and that pre-post-secondary sense of both fear and excitement that came with anticipating what university life would really be like, while feeling pretty damn good about yourself for reaching a certain measure of adulthood. 2003 was a great summer, with the Sheridan & Eric show in full swing at General Dynamics, haha. I remember long, long bus/trains rides (office all the way up by the airport!) which gave me plenty of time to read. At that point I was in an Eldredge phase, and I recall deep pauses to reflect on his theories of masculinity/femininity duality and the relational balance between them. That summer also involved some awesome canoeing with Scott, including my introduction to riding rapids, and bailing out on his dad, hahaha.

The Summer of 2004 was a cultural event in Calgary that shall long be remembered, that whole summer was totally awesome. Hockey parties every few days always gave us something to look forward to, and I seem to remember my recently-expanded group of friends hanging out with great frequency. But really, nothing I’ve ever experienced matches how excited the city was over our beloved Flames, a red fever that swept the nation, and helped to affirm Calgary’s ever-increasing importance on the Canadian stage. And my job was pretty sweet too, in a relaxing, peaceful way. Riding my mower around high school fields, driving around town all day checking on junior high schools while listening to jazz on CBC radio, arranging wall ball games with the rest of the “groundskeeper” crew in abandoned schoolyards – these were times of low stress and high introspection. I was completely alone for several hours a day, and I totally enjoyed it.

2005 and 2006 held the summers that framed my Waterloo campaign, the first being filled with a mix of loss and discovery, constraint and freedom, but overall a deep sense of excitement and personal/professional accomplishment. The latter was actually better, again filled with both loss and re-discovery, mistakes and triumphs. And to cap if off, hiking the WCT with Scott, Dan, and Greg was definitely something I’ll never forget.

Last year’s summer, 2007, was monumental in the sense of convocation and that great feeling of being “done school” – finally. But moreover, the sailing trip down under with Wong and Meera was pretty freakin’ sweet, and the Nica trip with Danny was an awesome experience. Starting a “real” job was pretty cool, although in retrospect I often had more responsibility as an intern at RIM than I did as an “intern” at NOV. But hey, I felt pretty good about my job, and the “international” travel opportunities it provided – in the end, leading up to my currently-anticipated emigration from the True North Strong and Free.

This past summer, 2008, was definitely the best summer of my entire life – for entirely different reasons than all the summers before. Houston was so much fun the entire time I was there, and what I consider “summer” in my mind started pretty early based on my Canadian-seasons standards, haha. But really, I got to travel around to cool places, partied (almost) every weekend, and we had waaay more than our fair shair of shenanigans, hahaha. Moreover though, I met amazingly awesome people, and that made all the difference in the world – really, all the difference :)

So now, standing at the edge of a brand-new Fall, I not only look back at summer and smile, but also look ahead with great expectations. I have so, so much to look forward to. Moving to a new city, a new country, a new life. I really enjoy my job, and I’m lucky that it’s pretty secure, given the current economic situation down south. But most importantly, the joy that I have now isn’t going away, it’s continuing on despite summer’s end, growing and blooming in contrast to the leaves falling and grass fading.

Yes, I do love summer, but this year – I think the best times are still to come…

the way the moonlight shined upon her hair