Saturday afternoon I found myself sat outside a café in a small street here in Norrköping. Both Norrköping and Linköping are much busier than usual these past few weeks because of the Euro 2013 tournament. The weather was lovely and I certainly had no intention of staying inside. To the right of me two elderly women were enjoying some chilled Rose wine and were talking about how summer is over.
I found this a little strange and continued to eavesdrop. One lady was saying that she had noticed that the nights were getting darker earlier and that soon it will be time to get out the winter clothes. The other replied that we were already 70% of the way through summer.
What meticulous time measuring ladies!
My head was soon going around in circles. Has summer once again vanished before our very eyes? Was the one-week of sun we had the only sunshine we will see before the harsh winter kicks in? Then I thought back to my childhood.
When we were children the summer holidays lasted six weeks. About the same time that these ladies predict we have left before the winter comes. Yet why as children did the holidays seem to last for an eternity? Is it because there was no work? We had all day to go out and play football or go for an adventure that stretched the limits of our imagination. Certainly I would have been bored if all I did for six weeks was stay in and play a PlayStation all summer.
Those summers seemed endless. I used to keep a tally chart on my bedroom door counting down the days until the holidays would begin. I know I am of an older generation, but we had computer games, we had consoles yet the only difference being is that our lives never seemed to depend on sitting for hours in front of the TV each day.
We’d be out from sunrise to sunset playing football, going fishing with our friends or just taking long bike rides along old abandoned train tracks. Whatever our excursion we would certainly maximise the use of the day.
The two elderly ladies may be correct in that the hand of time has ticked from Summer and is now leaning towards autumn, but it’s far from over. Just as I did as a child, I will ensure that this summer is a long one filled with many memories. Regardless of how busy we are, we owe it to ourselves to enjoy the weather whilst we can.
