Please help me out here.  I’m having anxiety and need coping skills.

It’s now June.  June is my favorite month of the entire year.  Both boys’ birthdays (two cakes!), warm weather, everything florescent green outside, and exuberant birdsong are hallmarks of June.  Adorable goslings, bunnies, ducklings, and fawns abound.  I exhibit misplaced optimism about the size, scope, and success of my flower and vegetable gardens.

It’s the month for the CVC’s 8th grade leadership experience, CampFIRE, so four days in the mountains.  I get to debut my birthday present – a stand-up paddleboard – on the area’s bodies of water.  It’s not too hot, the chance of snow is (almost) nil, and hiking is imminent.  Seriously, how much better does it get?

This is where coping skills are needed.  With the excitement and anticipation that come with June, the little voice in my head complains, “Sure, June is nice.  But it means that September is just minutes away.  Snow is around the corner.  You’ve got three months tops.  Better pack it all in because you’ll be sporting a parka in no time.”

I seriously have an eye twitch from the cold, miserable, endless winter and non-existent spring.  Did you know that the days start getting shorter in less than three weeks?  It’s a conspiracy!

If you read my last column, I talked about as you age, time goes faster. What I neglected to mention is that fact is much more valid in June, July, and August than it is in January, February, and March. I haven’t found the science behind that but we all know it’s true.

Now I’m taking a deep breath of this pollen-filled air and trying to take my own advice. If I can slow down, tune in, and revel in all the glory that is June, maybe it won’t go so fast.  Nick qualified for the National Junior High Rodeo Finals in team roping so off to Huron, South Dakota we go for a week. That will be a new experience so it should go more slowly, right?

As the eternal optimist, I’m going to my default.  The glass of dry Rosé (my summertime drink of choice) is definitely half-full. Thanks to my teeth chattering in May, I am much more grateful for bare skin, warm breezes, clear skies, and tall grass.

The cold and rain of last month meant that I was able to organize my closets, paint my bathroom, clean out the laundry room, and catch up on a lot of reading. Therefore I can work in the garden, paddleboard, hike, and laze in the hammock under the apple tree with zero guilt over unfinished indoor projects.

Whew.  I feel so much better. Thank you for letting me share my angst.  Doing that has allowed me to release it into the balmy air like the cotton currently wafting from the trees.  Now I am free to lean back and just enjoy.  Join me, won’t you?