Summer events put us in the moment

So much of our collective energy is spent anticipating the next big thing. The next project. The next event. The next holiday.

Our calendars are full weeks in advance. Marketing and merchandising strategies have been reminding us to start shopping for back to school since July and before you know it, the Halloween candy will be on the shelves.

But here comes some relief.

For a week in August we can blissfully consider our roots for a while as we take in the old-fashioned fun of the Grant County Fair and the tradition of soaking in the health benefits of Soap Lake at the first annual Mud Bathing Celebration.

What route can better take you to days gone by than a county fair? From live animal auctions to cotton candy, the fair is a symbol of Americana. As we ride the ferris wheel and take in the rodeo next week, we can imagine our grandparents and great-grandparents taking in exactly the same kind of recreation decades before. Such links to the past can be a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives today.

People have been flocking to Soap Lake for its legendary mud and water for more than 100 years. The Mud Bathing Celebration on Aug. 20 connects us to that long-standing history as we indulge in the same practices folks once traveled by horse and carriage to experience.

And it may be an oxymoron, but we can also look forward to the annual Living Pioneer Days at the Grant County Historical Museum on Sept. 24. Every year in the fall and spring, the museum comes alive with costumed volunteers who answer visitors questions and demonstrate candle making and other lost arts.

Just when you feel like your BlackBerry is running your life and you might as well have your cell phone surgically attached to your ear, comes an opportunity to remember some of life's simpler pleasures. Enjoy them while you can, the summer will be over before you know it.

Erin Stuber is the Columbia Basin Herald's managing editor.