Swimming Days and Lightning Bug Nights

I wish I could take credit for this whimsical saying, I read it somewhere long ago where the author used it to describe her childhood summers. I liked it so much I never forgot it and felt it was a fairly accurate description of my own childhood summers. Even as an adult I like to think of summers this way. Although I might not be riding my bike to the beach everyday and spending hours catching fireflies like I did in my past, I like to think of my adult summers as providing me with my own versions of those simple good old days. Sitting on the lawn sipping fine wine at Ravinia serves as an adult version of the lightning bug nights and hitting even one Chicago street fest in the summer provides the same spirited care free day as spending days in the sand used to. This past Friday Mallory and I spent the day at Old Orchard Mall with my good friend Paula. We walked the streets of the outside mall amidst the new Christmas Lights, all bundled up in our latest winter gear with the crisp cold air hitting our faces. With the last of our “Indian Summer” days behind us, it really hit home that summer is indeed over and the bitter cold winter days are soon to arrive. Before I resign myself to runny noses, dry skin, sky rocketing heating bills, and the many other miserable characteristics winter brings I’ll take a moment to be grateful for the sunny days we had and know that at the end of every long Chicago winter is another summer filled with swimming days and lightning bug nights...or street fest days and Ravinia nights. Either way it makes surviving the impending storm that much sweeter.

Mallory's First Trip to Old Orchard Mall