Hip, hip, hooray! School is out! That long summer vacation that we dreamed about all winter is here at last. Children and teachers and school bus drivers as well as those driving on the highway who get behind a school bus on the highway when they are late for an appointment of any kind will be delighted.

Parents, grandparents, and caretakers of children may be counting the weeks until school begins. However, if you work with children in any way you have a rare opportunity. You are helping shape the future of our country and our world.

Speaking of summer vacation, the children have so many sport activities in the summer that I made the remark that they would have to go back to school in order to get a vacation. I remember once when I was a teenager about a week after school was over I said to mother, “Why can’t they have school in the summer? There is nothing to do.” Mother laughed and said, “Wait one more week and we will start haying. That along with helping me with the garden and canning will keep you busy.”

This Sunday, June 21st, is a day that we have all been waiting for a long, long time. Yes, it is the first day of summer. We are so to speak at the top of the ladder. In just a few days, Mr. Sun will start his long trip southward toward his winter home and as we see the day grow shorter minute by minute we will know deep, deep in our heart that we are headed toward another Maine winter.

Now, let’s get back to June. We have a long summer ahead of us. Let’s enjoy it.

This Sunday, June 21st is also Father’s Day when we honor the men who have contributed to our lives over the years. Remember the 4-H fair at the Fairground tomorrow with the auction in the evening.

We want to say congratulations to all those who are graduated from high school or college this year and even to those who are moving on to a higher grade. They have worked hard. We are proud of each and every one of them and we know that they will push onward and upward to achieve great things and make spaceship Earth a better homeland for future generations.

Whether we are eight or eighty we should strive to push onward and upward. Let’s give it a try.