As I sit here this morning, pondering within my head as to what my wife, son, and I are going to do with our day, I am looking out the window to observe the morning sun shining against the bushes in front of the house. I am reminded about how much I do not care for Winter anymore. Oh yes, as a child growing up, I loved nothing more than to go outdoors and gallop about in the snow (and drifts). Heck, I'd even get out my bicycle and peddle up the road to my Grandfather's house to see him. I was quite good at bicycling in the snow. By the way, Winter never kept me off of my bicycle for very long because I had strong leg muscles. I could peddle through the snow as if it were never there in the first place.
I can remember one Summer when my Dad bought me one of those bicycle speedometers (one of the mechanical models available at the time which had a "sensor" unit composed of nothing more than a small plastic "wheel" which rubbed on the outside wall of your front bicycle tire), and before the speedometer ended up broken later that Summer, it had registered just over 1,000 miles on it. How accurate that old speedometer was I'll never know. I took that bicycle everywhere. There are many places I went which I never told my Mom and Dad. If they knew back then where I'd gone on that bicycle, they most certainly would of taken it away from me, especially at the young age I was.
I was saddened when the speedometer ended up broken due to high winds knocking the bicycle off it's kickstand, causing it to smash the speedometer directly onto a concrete sidewalk. To this day, I can still remember how sad I was.
Ah, I am going off course again. Back to Winter. Winter is a time which once made me thrilled to go outside and play in the cold snow. Being older, I do not like Winter as much as I once did. No longer do I get excited when I witness a heavy snow falling all day long. Upon observing a snowfall, the very first thing which comes to my mind is "How long is the morning commute going to be?" or "Will I make it to work at all?" Of course, odds are my mind will change somewhat once my son and I can go outside when there's lot of snow on the ground. We didn't even try during the most recent snowfall due to the insanely low temperatures; he wouldn't of lasted 3 minutes out there.
Nah, I am not a Winter person as much as I once was. However I am definitely a Summer person. Nothing brings me more pleasure than being able to go outside during a clear, sunny-filled Summer day to play with my son. Heck, it's just as good to sit out in the back and watch him play by himself, too. And let's not forget about going out in his pool, he loves the water. After he hits the sack (let me tell you, that boy can sleep) for the evening, my wife and I will venture outside to sit under the clear, warm Summer evening sky. Now, those are good times for me. Nothing's better than sitting outdoors on a clear, warm Summer evening with a good cigar in hand. *sigh*
Oh yeah, it gets even better: I find it particularly relaxing to sit outdoors on a clear, warm Summer evening with a good cigar in hand, especially if I mowed the grass that day. The smell of freshly cut grass while relaxing afterward will definitely induce the feeling of great satisfaction in me. Weird, huh?
Is it Summer yet?