Summer: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

For those of us who live for the triple-H weather of summer — hazy, hot, and humid — the six-week period we enjoyed from July 4th week through this past Saturday was our proverbial cup of tea.

Temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s are what summer is all about, especially if we are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy our area’s beaches and water-related activities, such as swimming, surfing, rowing, sailing, and fishing.

What can be better than spending time with our loved ones and friends either at or on the cool ocean (or lake) beneath a blistering sun with a warm, off-shore breeze from the hot city?

For us, these past few weeks have been the sorts of days that literally have burned images into our memory that we have remembered for the rest of our lives.

So it was quite a shock — and quite disconcerting — when we stepped out of our house early Sunday morning to a total change in the weather. The low-60s temperature, with a stiff breeze and no humidity, was like receiving a slap in the face.

Summer had disappeared overnight.

And while we can expect an occasional non-summery day even among the best stretch of summer weather, the forecast through Labor Day is for more of the same, with temperatures barely breaking 80 for the remaining two weeks of our summer season, which now is just a memory.

The sudden departure of our glorious summer once again has reminded us how short life is — and that all of us are subject to the maxim of the ancient Roman poet Virgil, Tempus fugit: Time flies.