Having "Me" Time

As summer is coming to an end in the northern hemisphere, I thought about summers past.  Then an interesting thought came to mind.  Memories that I remember most vividly from childhood usually occur in the summer or involved something new, something unexpected. Why summer?  Why do memories from these two to three months a year are the ones that remain so vividly in my mind?  What happened with the rest of the year?  Why do new, unexpected events leave marks upon the brain? Of course, memories from the other nine months of the year, which is not summer, also appear now and then, however, I noticed that they are usually memories of time with an "event" to remember.  For a kid, that meant traveling, new experiences, birthday parties or playing with the dog and somethng happens.   I remember seeing Chantilly in France for the first time as we rounded a bend in the road and suddenly before us appeared the magnificant castle....

Six years ago on this very day my true love died.  Dyzio od Abruchy.  He was a miniature dacshund, rusty brown in colour with a fluffy tail and eyes that made you melt.  Born in Poland and raised in five different countries, Dyzio was a well-traveled dog who was loved by all who knew him.  He traveled on the plane. First class with a ticket and private box.  He was indeed a lucky dog.  He was my baby. He spoke not Polish his birth country, nor English, but spoke Thai.  He understood when I told him to go fetch his toy upstairs and bring it down to play with me.  He understood when we told him to keep quiet. I got Dyzio in Poland where I had been living with my parents at that time.  It was 1993 and the Solidarity movement in Poland had just won their first elections in a Communisty country.  For the first time, Poland was moving towards a free market economy.  Everything was changing, and it changed fast. I...