Do you remember the excitement you felt counting the days in school until Summer vacation?  Days felt like weeks and minutes felt like hours, until that last day of school arrived.  This is the day that everyone has to attend school for one hour before you are released to freedom.  There was even a sense of camaraderie with my teachers.  I could see a twinkle in their eyes and I remember realizing that they were just as excited to have a break from us.

As an adult, my two month break has turned into two weeks but it’s still just as refreshing and exciting.  For the past 10 years or so, every August several members of my family head to the North Fork of Long Island and invade my dad’s home for two weeks.  My sister, her husband and two kids fly from Dallas to meet David, myself and Bernie in New York for two weeks of great fun. Of course we drive each other crazy as well, but it’s great.

I’ve been back now for almost a week and I love picturing some of the fun things we did during vacation.  My favorite memory of this past trip was during a lobster dinner.  Nothing reminds me of the east coast and Summer on Long Island more than a good lobster dinner.  This particularly humid Wednesday night was no exception.  As the 6 adults are seated around the table, my 5 year old nephew Thomson is both fascinated and grossed out while we shell our meals.

“I’ll cowwect the wobster sheww’s.  Hand all of your sheww’s to me,”  Thomson says marching around the table.

“Gotta love having Barbra Walters bus our table tonight,”  I whisper to my sister.

“Dougall, stop it!”  Tarrin says laughing while also gently hitting me.

My sister is going to be 41 and I am 34, but the minute we are in a room together I can’t help but be that snarky younger brother.  I’ll probably make fun of her wig and Depends undergarments from adjacent rooms in a nursing home in our 80’s.

Once I finish my meal I lean back and look around the room.  My heart is filled with joy as I look at the people that I love.  There is always a lingering sense of sadness that my Mom isn’t with us.  My parents have been divorced for almost 20 years and even though I know it was the right choice, in these moments it feels hard.

“Ugh, my hands are so sticky!”  I announce to the table.

“Me too.”  David responds.

“I have an idea.  Who wants to go swimming right now?”  I ask the table.

“Really?” Thomson screams.

My niece Talula is standing on a chair staring at everyone.  She hasn’t a clue what we are talking about but can tell that there is excitement in the air.  She seems keenly aware that at 8:15pm it is way past her bed time, and something really fun is about to happen.

“Let’s go swimming!!!!”  My Dad yells from the head of the table.

Everyone jumps up and races around the house trying to find their bathing suits.  I hear laughing and giggling coming from every corner.

My family’s home is on Little Peconic Bay.  Perched at the top of a small bluff above the bay, the house is about 20 feet from the water.  It’s a magical location that we are all very fond of.  On this particularly muggy night, the bay is lit in silver by the moon.  All eight of us slowly descend the stair case only to realize that the tide is so high, it is covering the last step.

Without hesitation I dive right into the water and hear eight splashes one by one behind me.  I float on my back for a second, stare up at the moon and feel grateful.  There are three generations of family floating and splashing around me.  The water is cool and in contrast to the muggy night, it feels like perfection.

“Look! Look!”  I hear David yelling.

I raise my head to see David and Tarrin slowly waving their arms in the water.  They are surrounded by little sparkles of light.

“The Jellyfish are glowing!  Thomson, look.”  Tarrin says.

I’m not sure how this happens, but at night in the bay there are small white jellyfish about the size of silver dollars.  These don’t sting, and when they collide with something they light up like fireflies of the sea.

For the next 30 minutes we bobbed around in the water looking up at the stars surrounded by tiny flickers of light.  It felt perfect and timeless.

As David and I were returning back to Los Angeles, we both agreed that we had a great time and yet felt a sense of sadness or loss.  We were certainly looking forward to getting home and back to our routine.  But there is something energetically uplifting about anticipating a big trip, or a special event that is coming up in your life.  We daydream about it and use it for inspiration.  But once the experience is complete, sometimes my mood dips a little.

I find myself daydreaming wistfully about my Summer highlights. Although it makes me happy, I realize that there are endless ways to generate new energy for the months to come.  I feel refreshed and excited for fall to arrive.  Fires in the fireplace, sweaters, and hot apple cider on a cool night all make me giddy.  Connecting with special clients on my September trip to Seattle, seeing my mom and aunt in Dallas in October, and going to upstate New York for my friend’s wedding all make me look forward to Autumn.

This week I invite you to share some of your summer highlights by commenting below.  And as your summer draws to a close, intend for your consciousness to pick the next exciting goal or marker in your life.  I think it’s important to step back occasionally and reassess where you are, who you are and where you are going in your life.  More importantly, are you enjoying the journey?

Much love,

Dougall