The Sounds of Summer

The sounds of summer are different this morning. Is it less bright or perky? I don't know what the right word is. It sounds slower, like even the buzz of the cicada is tired and lazy.

I can feel it: the shift, the downward climb to summer. My Instagram feed is filling up with photos of kids returning to school and wide-eyed parents leaving their first-year college students on tidy little dormitory bunk beds. It feels odd not getting Lily ready for school this year. I love back-to-school shopping. So to feel less out of sorts about it, I put a backpack of supplies together and dropped it off at the Mary Nelson Youth Center. We do a school supply drive at work this time of the year, but I wanted to do something extra to benefit the kids in the neighborhood where I grew up. It's hard out in the world right now; everything seems to cost more, the news is stressful, and Mother Nature seems extra pissed off. Hopefully getting some help with school supplies will make tired and overwhelmed parents feel like someone gets it and cares.

Are you going out shopping? Grab an extra package of number 2 pencils and drop them off at your local youth center. We all need extra love right now.

xo