What Is It

Summer has arrived. With a vengeance. Not that I am complaining. I love the heat. Not that many years ago I would wilt with these kinds of temperatures. Not anymore. I remember one Christmas, approximately 2004, when the temperatures dropped to -44. I swore high and low that I would never complain about heat again. Every time I am tempted I think back to 2004. Proves the point that it is mind over matter.

As I meandered along the golf course yesterday I reflected on a story I heard last week. I use the term “meander” rather loosely at this point. When you meander on a golf course it simply means your shots are most anywhere except down the fairway. Not a problem. It was a fun meander, if there is such a thing. Doing what I like to do.

Back to the story I was reflecting on. I happened to be a guest on “the nighthawk”. CJOB. 10:00 in te evening. Way past my bedtime. However, there I was. The host made mention of a situation in Ontario where 27 million bees had died. 27 million. That is a huge number. Kind of blew out of the water anything I had to share. And as I said to the host when I left, for all intents and purposes I don’t really care if all the bees die. Obviously my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek. Okay, so I don’t like honey and bee stings really upset me. I have to keep in mind the wonderful things bees contribute to our food, our flowers, our fruits. It is called pollination.

The reason I was reflecting on that number is because my golfing partner that morning asked a question about mosquitos. And trust me, there are many questions to be asked. They are bad. As bad as I have ever seen them. So bad that it becomes difficult to stand still when you are trying to concentrate on a golf shot. I should not complain. They are part of summer in Manitoba. Having said that, they were never this bad in Wawanesa. Perhaps that is God’s country.

My golf partner simply asked me how many mosquitos there might be in all of Manitoba. Interesting question. Wait a minute. How many are there in any given cubic foot? That might be easier. Reiterates the point that the mosquitos are bad. Not only that, they appeared a lot smaller this weekend than they had. That simply means it’s the next generation. Here we go again.

Some questions are difficult to answer. We may never know how many bees or mosquitos there are. Quite frankly we probably don’t care. Sometimes, though, it is difficult to answer questions that are important to us. The title asks “what is it”? That is my question these days.

We wait and wait for certain things. Things that are high lights in our lives. I was waiting, desperately, for summer to arrive. Here it is. I am golfing more than ever. My golf game is actually acceptable, in spite of the fact that I lost some money yesterday. My work is good. Kids are doing well. What is it? What is it that brings about a certain sadness? Brings a lack of motivation? Brings out the anger? So difficult to figure out.

Perhaps I spend too much time analyzing things. (I suspect my wife would concur with that one) Sometimes it is a matter of letting go. Things will not always go my way. We may never find the answer. But for the most part, life is good. It certainly could be worse. Make it a good one.