Tomorrow, many of us will get to take a day off to celebrate our nation's 232nd birthday. As a happy calendar coincidence, many will get a three day weekend as well.

Traditionally, the summer season is marked by three milestone events: the beginning - Memorial Day, the mid point - July 4, and the end - Labor Day. The weather and the actual official dates for the season may say otherwise, but for as long as I can remember, that's the way it has been.

As I grow older, my perceptions about the passage of time change. When I was a child, summer happily seemed to last forever. Of course, as a child with very few obligations other than a paper route, who wouldn't want it to last forever?

Now, the days and weeks literally seem to fly by, leaving me to wonder where they have gone. Looking back, there are several summers that I would have liked to have made longer, some that I would have wanted to be shorter.

The weeks that I detasseled corn could have gone by much faster. The money earned was great, but the work was physically demanding. I still believe that everyone should be required to detassel corn once, to truly appreciate the value of work.

I'd like a chance to have a few summers over, especially some from my youth. Youth, as the saying goes, is truly wasted on the young. Long summer nights spent playing kick the can or some other game were wonderful.

Now that my children are grown, I'd like to have some of their youthful summers back as well. We spend so much time scraping out a living that we rarely take the time to enjoy the golden moments that are flying by.

This past weekend, our oldest daughter, Lindsay, and her husband, Thomas, came for a visit. My wife held a baby shower for Lindsay, who will be having her first child in August.

Thomas and I ducked out to a movie. We went to see "The Incredible Hulk," which was better than I thought it would be. Not as good as "Iron Man," which I highly recommend, but good. We got to spend some time together that we normally wouldn't have had an opportunity to do. That time, and the whole weekend, went by way too quickly.

In just a couple of months, Madison, our youngest daughter, will head off to college. I know it will be fine, but I would like to find a way to slow these next two months down.

Many families will be pausing to catch their breath after a whirlwind June. Between little league, swimming lessons, driver's education, music lessons, bible school and family gatherings, there has been precious little time to unwind. It's almost as hectic and structured as the school year. Crazy.

After the 4th, the pace slows down. Vacations are discussed, and some actually even occur. This is usually the time when the sleeping patterns of children become their most erratic. With daylight lasting until nearly 9 p.m., it's difficult to get anyone to keep normal sleep patterns. I can only imagine what it must be like in Alaska where the sun almost never sets during this time of year.

That would definitely make your summer either fly by, or last forever. Somehow, I doubt that the Beach Boys were pondering Alaska when they released "Endless Summer" 34 years ago

Yes, it's been that long.

I guess there's little we can do about time but try to enjoy it as it passes.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.