Summer lovin', have me a blast

I am giddy with anticipation,knowing what will be coming around the corner – endless sunshine, daily BBQ’s, swimming at the beach, camping, Slushee runs, oh, and mosquitoes. I am hesitant to write about these pesky critters, but what is a Winnipeg summer without them? Swatting at those little bloodsuckers is a sure thing, just like skinned knees are to the Burgos boys (me included), or rain on May long weekend. It’s guaranteed.

There is no better icebreaker than the topic of weather. No matter if you are in an elevator with one other person, or in line at the gas station, the conversation always leads to, “So, it’s pretty hot out there, eh?” or my favourite, “Those weather people never get the forecast right.” Either way, the chat will surely end with, “At least it isn’t snow!” Am I right? It’s guaranteed.

How I enjoy this time of the year! Everyday so far (weather permitting), the family has spent the evenings outside biking, playing at the park and taking the dog for a walk. At work, I stare at the clock on my desk hoping that it would just move a bit faster.

In the end, I try to enjoy my time outdoors now, before the aforementioned mosquitoes start swarming in. No word of a lie, I was going for a walk the other day and what seems like a small bird landed on my arm, as it turns out, it was the Arnold Schwarzenegger of flies. Seriously, it tried to lift me up into the sky and feed me whole to its colony. Is it me or have they gotten bigger? Get your repellent ready, or maybe a slingshot.

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This year, 2011, has gotten off to a rough start when it comes to weather. The destructive nature of tornadoes in the Mid-western US, the tragic tsunami that hit Japan or the enormous amount of snow, which then translated into devastating floods hitting our province. It is always difficult to see people mourning the loss of their loved ones during such tragic times. However, if there was an upside to all this tragedy and heartache, I have heard stories of humans beating insurmountable odds, everyday people becoming heroes. Stories that when you hear them, you become very proud of what we are capable of in harrowing times. I recently attended a school assembly where a Japanese woman, who knew many people affected by the earthquake and tsunami, shared with us stories from her friends who survived that natural disaster. Sitting in a gymnasium surrounded by almost 1,000 students, I noticed not one person made a sound while the guest speaker read emails she received from her friends and family overseas. She spoke of how, in desperate times, the people of Japan never looted grocery stores or homes, the victims never sat back and cried “Why me?” They simply picked themselves up and started to rebuild. She spoke of how when people would go to the stores for supplies or food, they bought only what they needed for the day so that there would be enough goods for everyone to share. Her stories went on about acts of kindness and thanked the school for raising funds for Japan relief.

It’s nice to be reminded of the good out there when we are constantly bombarded with all the bad news we read in the paper or see in the news. At the risk of sounding too sappy, I’m going to go home, spend time with the family or maybe find a friend I haven’t spoken to in a while on Facebook, and just enjoy what life has handed me. Life is what you make of it. It’s guaranteed.

Dale Burgos manages the communications department for a Winnipeg School Division.

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