SUMMER

I can’t be the only one who, on the twenty-first day of June, starts to get anxious about summer being over. Even though I’m mostly retired and travel and vacate nearly as much during the other three seasons, summer will always mean vacations and good times. But every year, from the first official day of summer, I start to fret about it almost being over.  Come the third week in August, I go into panic mode as the sun sets earlier and the evenings get cooler knowing autumn is just around the corner 

There are theoretically, three months to summer:  mid-June to mid-September.  But most of us, even if school was fifty years ago, still think in terms of the school year and summer vacation so it’s really less than three months. That’s not a lot of time to pack in all that summer brings.  

My list of wants combined with the Northeast’s relatively short season means there’s simply not enough time to cover it all. It doesn’t help that this June it also rained almost every single day.

So what is it about summer that is so great?  Being outdoors for starters.  Come November through mid- March, unless you’re a skier and I’ve hung up my skis, we Northeasterners are mostly inside. But in the summer months, you can be outside all the time—unless it’s raining. 

Most spectacularly there are the lakes and the ocean and even the backyard pool to enjoy. Besides the sports that come with being by the water, including sailing and kayaking and swimming, there’s the wonder and beauty of simply sitting beside water either in a lounge chair or a hammock with a good book and a glass of rosé or iced tea—pure heaven.       

But back to the salad days of summer, which are just now beginning. Besides the pleasures that come with the beach or the lake, there’s grilling outdoors followed by dinner on the deck or in the screened in porch alight with candles as the sun goes down. Rocking on the front porch with a friend or that same book and of course, a glass of wine.  There’s also playing golf. Whether you’re ready to go pro or are a duffer, there’s still the joy of being outside in a beautiful place. 

And when not golfing or reading and drinking wine? Outdoor concerts, summer theatre and midweek potluck dinner with friends fill the days and evenings as do celebrating Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day outside with old and new friends..

Perhaps summer is really be a symbol of what I love best, socializing, being outside and enjoying life and all it has to offer.  It is probably also about childhood memories of the beach and the lake and long carefree days when I wasn’t responsible for anyone but myself. Regardless, it is my favorite time of the year, not because I’m able to tan to a beautiful bronze, I freckle, but because more than any other season, it represents the little joys that life brings and reminds me to stop rushing so that I can enjoy them.