Sad Summer: Day 16

Sometimes the sun shines and people smile and flowers lean toward the sun . . . soft breezes carry the scent of jasmine and the faint echoes of music remind you that somebody not too far away from where you are right this minute is reveling in the slow pace of summer.

Sometimes all of that and more swirls around you and you suspect you should be smiling along with everyone else, donning your sunglasses and happily anticipating another hot summer day.

And sometimes you just can’t bring yourself to smile one more time, or put on a watermelon-colored t-shirt and flip flops again today, or dig the plastic insulated cups with beach umbrellas printed on them out of the hall closet for a little festive touch.

Sometimes the sun seems oppressive and the heat hurts and the smiling people make you want to scream and your eyes sting with tears . . . and you want to ask if anybody else out there knows how a sad summer feels.