The Big Catch

The end is near!  The end of Summer that is.  *sigh* Oh how it makes me sad.  Until the last few years, this feeling has not hit me in the way that it does some.  I'm not a Summer girl, in fact Autumn is my favorite season, and my kids were too young to be heading off to school.  I was simply unaffected.  When my oldest was exactly one year from beginning Kindergarten, it hit me.  It hit me that I had just enjoyed the last unattached Summer, as the following Summer would end with an attachment  to a first day of school.

Summer is like a fish on the line.  Once it's hooked, you start to reel it in.  There's so much fun and excitement as you begin pulling it through the water.  You make a myriad of plans, because you are certain this is going to be the catch that tops all catches and you want to enjoy every bit of it.  You could mount it and make sure it's beautiful for everyone to see, or get every piece of "meat" out of it that you could possibly enjoy.  Of course, this fish is the largest to hit the scales, so there is plenty to go around.  As you continue to reel in your award winning fish, you start to see that it's getting smaller.  That can't be true!  It can't possibly be getting shorter each time I reel in a little more of the line?  You attempt to ignore the thought and throw yourself into the entertainment of it all.  All of a sudden, that champion bounty is right in front of your face!  But wait!  It's just a tiny trout and you know that you must let it go so that it may grow.  Hmmm... maybe next year it'll be big enough to hold onto.  You try to let go of your disappointment  and realize the best way to do so.  You pull back your fishing pole and send out a new cast.  Within seconds, you have a bite!  Your expectations are high as you begin to reel in the next big catch... Autumn!

Are you sad to see Summer go, excited about Autumn's upcoming arrival, or full of mixed emotions?  Did you get everything out of Summer that you planned or hoped for?  What is your favorite season or do you live in a climate where the change of seasons isn't reflected in the scenery?