Summer
Posted by Nancy Burnett on Friday, July 18, 2025
The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are upon us. Our youth are enjoying camps, swimming, and sports as we adults tend to golf and gardening always with an eye to weather reports. (We Ohioans are used to heat advisories, storm warnings, and air quality alerts.) June was filled with strawberries and roses, now followed by an abundance of tomatoes and zucchini. My father loved gardening. He would come home from work, change his clothes, and head outside. He had a green thumb and took great pride in our rose garden. We had fruits and vegetables year round due to our big garden and my mother and grandmother canning and freezing all the produce. My kids grew up going to their house to help with the garden. Only now do they appreciate those days, and although they don’t have the three acres Gramma and Grampa did, they each have their own gardens. There is something very satisfying about knowing from where our food comes.
Although I appreciate being blessed with abundance, I feel guilt at being able to go to my local grocery store or farm market and choose what I want for a meal knowing that others are far less fortunate. While I bemoan the cost of a loaf of bread, others would find one loaf of bread life sustaining.
While the world continues to erupt in chaos, I long for those days of seeming peace and tranquility, when my biggest worry was if it would rain or if we needed to water the garden. But, of course, there was plenty of chaos in the 50s, 60s, and 70s of my youth. I just choose to remember only the good times. Maybe that’s the benefit of aging - selective memories.
Life itself is fragile, and we must find a way to appreciate each new day as a gift and seek ways to alleviate the suffering of others, even in small ways.
I continue to hope for peace and prosperity, for a world in which we humans take care of each other. I continue to give thanks for my family and friends, and I continue to nourish my garden just as G-d nourishes His world. Enjoy a summer of peace, love, and joy, and continue to nourish the world around us all.