Oh, Summertime!

George & Ira Gershwin along with colleague Heyward DuBose wrote it for the play “Porgy and Bess”. Its lyrics conjure up lazy days, sunshine, family and good times. Who doesn’t know the tune and words…

“Summertime
And the livin' is easy,
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high.”

It’s been a challenging winter, the one just past. We continue to hear of strife in Afghanistan, the decayed state of world economies, horrid oil spills in the Gulf, and more. Heck, if you let it get to you, it would.

“Oh yo' daddy's rich
An' yo' ma is good lookin'
So hush, little baby,
Don't you cry.”

But it’s all about choice - personal choice. The sort that we awake to everyday, and decide whether or not our glass is half-full or half-empty. Turning on the news or logging onto our favorite homepage brings regular reminders of the perils we’re now facing. Who couldn't take all that to heart! The challenges seem so large on those long and sometimes dark, winter days.

“One of these mornin's,
You's gonna rise up singin'
Then you'll spread yo' wings
An' you'll take to the sky.”

But then if you’re like me, and are really lucky, you get a chance to look forward to those times when brightness and sunshine beams into your living room. Indeed, into your life. When the lake beckons and the trails call you for a trek. When barbeques and ‘cool ones’ remind you of times when life was simpler and less hectic. And that it’s still all a matter of choice.

“But till that mornin',
There's ain't nothin' can harm you
With your Daddy an' Mummy
Standin' by.”

Don’t you just love Summertime!