Summer of Now and Then

This summer has been one of those that tests the patience of people, especially those of us who live in places that experience winter.

We make plans; that's what people do.  We don't expect the disappointments that come. 

Some 41 years ago, we had a strange summer.  There was rain, sure, but there was also a pervasive cold that just would not go away.  Other than two weeks of really warm weather, the summer of 1972 was chilly (for swimming) and unpredictable.  This was the summer before my first son was born, and we had plans too.

My brother-in-law had become part-owner of a country club in Medina.  They had a pool there but it had never been much of a success.  It was not heated for one thing.  Near the pool was a garage for golf carts and so in order to make the pool more fun for the members, they walled off a portion of it and created a snack bar.  It was really a cute little thing. 

The snack bar had a refrigerator in it already and an old chest freezer that didn't work all that well.  We added a hot dog and bun steamer and a Stewart sandwich maker, plus a milk shake maker.  There were shelves for candy and snacks and a nice serving shelf in front for customers. 

Everything was in perfect shape for that summer, except for the one thing no one ever really counted on, and that was the poor weather.  In my mind, the build-it-and-they-will-come thing was going strong and it just wouldn't sink in that this summer experience would be anything but great.  But now you never knew when to close the pool or keep it open, pay the lifeguards to sit around or send them home.

It was supposed to be a money maker but it turned out to be a lot of work, and we maybe broke even.  As the days went by, my optimism began to wane and turn into something else.  Do you know that feeling when it seems like there is a dark cloud over your head and it won't leave?  That feeling that nothing ever goes right?  That feeling that everything you touch goes bad?  That's the feeling that I grew to have that summer, and it was akin to despair.  We aren't suppose to despair because despair is a giving up on everything and most especially God.

During those couple of warm weeks, the pool was doing great and the snack bar did a good business.  It was a hint of what was to come the next summer which was much more typical of Ohio.  But in 1972 I was 25 years old, pregnant, and not very good at understanding how life sometimes works. 

There was another really memorable summer weather wise.  The summer of 1987 was a very trying one too because of a huge drought we had that year.  Everything was so parched!!  It was in that year that I learned to appreciate the good and accept the bad much better.  It was in that year that I promised myself I would never complain about rain again, and I haven't.  It takes time for us to let go and recognize that we aren't in control of things here.  Inside our own houses, we can move the temperature gauge up or down, but once we walk outside, it isn't our call anymore.

So the summer of 2013 will be remembered as a summer of rain, I suppose, but I for one am not going to despair or complain.  I just hope we can get through Canal Days without the river going over its banks.