Summer People

I am thankful for summer people.

I am definitely not a summer person myself. I wilt in the summer. Give me a day in the 70s or low 80s in the middle of summer or as it’s waning, and I’m thrilled because it’s a break from the heat. But in the spring? It just means the cold is over and the heat is coming, and I don’t like the thought. The cold, though, is my friend. Any tint of a chill in the air makes me so happy. Yes, I sometimes get tired of the cold. Yes, it’s annoying when my fingers act up in the cold and don’t work like they should. Yes, sometimes I wish I didn’t have to keep up with a coat. But I get tired of the heat much more quickly. Winter is my happy time.

But then there are the summer people. They love those warm spring days because that means they are about to come alive. They enjoy being out in the warmth, working in their yards or gardens, and enjoying the chance to be free from the jackets and sweaters. The things that speak coziness and delight to me are restrictive to them.

Winter is my time to shine. To have energy. To celebrate. To thrive. To soak up every ounce of the cold but to also share warmth through a pot of soup or a nice hot cup of cocoa.

Summer is their time to do the same. To show their own burst of energy that helps them celebrate and thrive. To coax growth out of the ground. To share activities and nourishment that soaks up creation.

All too often, we don’t celebrate each other’s differences. We gripe and complain about one another and wish we were all the same. The summer people wish summer would last longer and fuss at those who wish for snow. The winter people gripe about the heat and fuss at those who complain about having to put on a jacket.

Instead of celebrating one another, we fuss. We gripe. We pick. We complain.

And, sadly, heat and cold — or pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon, the “argument” that swirls every year as autumn approaches — aren’t the only things we fuss about. We pick apart one another’s personalities. We criticize someone else for their hobbies, social preferences, favorite foods, likes and dislikes, and so much more. We attack one another over every little thing.

We have a beautiful opportunity to instead celebrate one another!

I’ve been so guilty of this. It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to be frustrated about the differences in others. It’s easy to gripe that they don’t “get” me — when I refuse to “get” them either.

I’m going to practice by celebrating my summer people. I’m going to be thankful for them and cheer for their enjoyment of these warm days, even as I enjoy the cool mornings. I’m going to explore the fullness of enjoying their enjoyment while also anticipating my own delight that is still to come, even if it’s delayed a bit because of where I live.

Because our differences are sweet. And I’m thankful for every single one of them.