Today’s quote comes from one of the most famous of Billy Shakes’ 154 sonnets, Sonnet 18.
The one that opens with, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The line that I chalked, “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date,” lands like a quiet reminder, that summer is fleeting, and so are we.
The Summer of 2025 has slipped into memory now. We will never live these days again except in the stories we carry forward. Everyone thinks Sonnet 18 is a love poem, and maybe it is, but beneath it lies something deeper...
... the truth that youth and beauty will fade, that time builds against us, and that we need to grasp the moments while they are here. We must paint them in wonder and keep them alive not just in life, but in legacy.
For me, Labor Day’s legacy will always be tied to a childhood memory. Trying to stay up all night with my mommy, watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon, seeing the tote board climb with every donation. That was my marker that summer was over and the school uniform was waiting to wear.
Tomorrow, we turn the calendar to the “Ber” months, September through December. The stretch of the year where the air cools, the sweaters come out, and the anticipation builds for Hanukkah, Christmas, and the promise of a new year. These months bring coziness and comfort. Warm drinks by the fire, raging bonfires in backyards, and quiet evenings under heavy blankets.
This last week of August pulled out our school colors, filling stadiums and fields with cheers that bring back fond memories of seasons past. Take time to walk beneath the tired leaves before they flash their quick brilliance and let go. Notice the angle of the sun today, how it drapes itself differently across your shoulders than it did in July, already preparing to join the birds on their southern journey.
Summer may have ended, but autumn arrives carrying its own kind of grandeur. The kind Billy Shakes knew how to capture, and the kind we keep alive by remembering.
Sunday-Funday has a smile on the sun and a memory to create.
