Remember Fun Dip? That stuff was awesome. You always knew it was summer when there was a pouch of Fun Dip to be opened. And if there was a glass of Kool-Aid nearby too, well!

Stepping out of the car, your skin feels a sudden drop in temperature. The wind has picked up and brings with it a quiet scent. Upwards your eyes and ears train themselves; you can feel it coming. And then, a soft rumbling in the distance.

Ever notice how things don't always work out quite like you had planned? What are you doing on this first day of summer? Are you where you expected you would be? Are you with who you expected you would be with? Are you living the life you had always thought you'd be living? Did you hit your mark? Are you even within driving distance of your goals? I can tell you, I'm about seventy thousand light-years away from mine.

The light gradually fades from the sky as the clouds move in from the west. The rumbling grows louder, closer, signaling its imminence. A flash of lightning, and the sky opens up.

Look ahead at the entire length and breadth of your summer for a moment. What do you see yourself doing? Have you made any progress at the end of it? Have you made new friends, found a new job, a new home, or improved your life at all? Has someone improved your life for you? Did you forget to thank them?

The clouds slowly pass overhead. The pitter patter of the rain gradually subsides and the sun shows its glowing face one last time. It sets the sky ablaze in a vibrant orange display, spreading its wings and reaching out with its breath to send warm words of parting as it confidently lays itself down. Even the leaves in the trees are unable to stop this final fiery burst of brilliance.

Can you remember the most fun you ever had in a summer? Undoubtedly it's a memory from your childhood, as summers had real meaning in those days, but what made it so special? Was it an event, was it a person, or maybe a group you were with? Do you still do those kinds of things? Why not? What has changed? Must it?

The sun's hands race gently across the grass, its fingers spread wide. The rain turns to vapor, reaching up from the ground to the sky from which it came. A foggy mist now hangs overhead. The sun has set in the west, leaving behind a trail of softly glowing clouds. From muted hues, the darkness slowly rises in the east to fill the gaps left by the sun. The air comes to life with the echoes of a rainforest as fowl and beast sing lullabies to their young.

When was the last time you laid yourself down on the grass and, eating Fun Dip and staring up at the clouds, named the various things you saw up there in the sky? When was the last time you executed a perfect cannonball into a populated pool? When was the last time you draped a blanket over your shoulders and singlehandedly took on all the boogeymen at once? Or maybe you still do these things?

The remnants left by the storm drip melodically from the leaves and the glow of the streetlights is scattered by the slowly settling vapor in the air.

Should we still do these things?

And a cat sleeps quietly on the windowsill, blissfully ignorant of it all.

On this first day of summer.