Summer vs. Fall: An On-Going Debate...

                              Some of the best memories
                     are made in flip flops!
                                   - Kellie Elmore


Just yesterday Bert and I were in the car debating the 
merits of Summer vs. Fall. Which season really captivates our hearts? Which season is our all-time favorite? 

Bert has always been a "fall-season guy." I've long suspected he loves fall because once again football is back, and he loves
football. He played football very successfully in high school, and those memories quicken when he watches his beloved Seahawks. Bert still loves to debate with me whether this or that was truly pass interference. He's truly proud that as a "girl" I know as much about his beloved sport as he does. :)

I grew up with a Dad that taught me all about the ins and outs of how you really play the game. My grandson finds it hard to believe that I know all the player's names and positions and have as much zeal for Russell Wilson as he does. Jacob is also amazed that I know that Russell just got married and the details of his nuptials. :)

Yet football isn't the only thing that makes fall Bert's favorite season. Bert LOVES nature and trees. As the trees start to turn colors here in Spokane, he is as giddy as a kid at Christmas. He tracks each tree (and there are LOTS of them) and almost always gives a "Daily Report" of the subtle changes in color.

My beloved even has a list of favorite quotations about fall that slip into his conversations. I love it when all of a sudden Bert says, as if I have never heard it before....
              "Fall has always been my favorite season.
              The time when every thing bursts with 
              its last beauty, as if nature had been saving
               up all year for the grand finale!"

Side note: How amazing is my hubby? He not only is a "man's man" (football, paratrooper, windsurfer), he can quote poetry!!

I just smile and chuckle softly when Bert is so sure that his
poetry will bring me over to the "We Love Fall Best!" contingency.

The debate of Fall vs. Summer has gone for all of the thirty two plus years of our marriage. 

This Fall vs. Summer conversation is ongoing as I speak since fall is coming early to Spokane this year. The leaves on the huge maple trees that make an arbor over our street are already starting to change colors. 

While I don't rule out some of the finer qualities of fall, and I love a good debate, I am definitely a summer gal. 

Always have been, always will be.

We have a true summer in Spokane. Hot weather, lots of sunshine, 80 plus degree days, and hundreds of lakes to dip your toes in within a mile of our city.

Summer is more laid-back. I LOVE flip flops and just gliding your feet into them at a moment's notice. 

Most of all I love having family schedules be more relaxed. There is nothing like a spontaneous summer get together to make my heart sing!!

As I get a bit older, I love, love, love having time to read a book that is not teaching-related. Give me a good suspense novel and I am truly in heaven-on-earth!

I love the sumer traditions like going to Diamond Lake, harvesting herbs from my garden and spontaneously calling up friends to see if they want to go to dinner or a movie.

Sometimes I think that God must love summer best. Maybe He never intended for us to live such rush...rush...rush schedules, like the other seasons provide. 

It's so easy to miss God's grace and glory in all of the hustle and bustle.  It's easy to miss His whisper in my ear...
   "Linda, look at all of the glory I have made for you to enjoy!"

In summer's slower pace, I can see God's blessings everywhere. I breathe more fully, and can feel His presence more deeply.

Yes, I know fall with all of its busyness is right around the corner, yet I am relishing each summer's day and warm evening. After all, some of my best memories are made in flip flops!!

God Bless!
Love, Linda