Tuesday Thread: The regret of late summer

Especially here in Minnesota, summer goes by so fast. My kids go back to school two weeks from today, and it feels like I still have so many unfinished plans for time spent, clouds watched, tomatoes and watermelon eaten, rays of sun soaked.

I’m finding myself never wanting this summer to end. Partly because I feel sick with uncertainty about Covid and keeping my kids and friends and family safe, partly because I can literally feel myself getting older — and the gut-wrenching reality that comes with being jaded — and I hate it.

This was one of those summers, for me, where I felt the world I know is possible slipping away. This was a summer of disaster fatigue, and even worse, (like Brian Kahn writes today) disaster banality. Inside, I’m still outraged, grieving, screaming, and it feels like everyone else is going to the pool.

This was the summer we learned that we can still have the joy and celebration that comes with summer, but we have to fight for it — not just for ourselves, but for everyone.

How are you feeling, now that summer is drawing to a close?