On Summer

Summer is closing down shop like your mom’s beach house on Cape Cod. I have not been to the beach this summer therefore I have not been to Cape Cod. I usually like to go and hang out in the dunes but if there is one time I like going to the beach and hanging out in the dunes, it is the fall. Anyone want to hang out on the beach in the dunes, have our cheeks get red from windburn and drink mimosas with the seagulls this fall?

Summer is on its way out as evidenced by the smell of the air as well as the air’s feel. Temperatures are dropping; the other night I almost wanted a long sleever. The change in the seasons is coming, though when I was younger, I felt like the seasons changed with more like the flick of a switch quality, like one day we were swimming and the next we were tossing and turning in piles of leaves.

While summers used to mean something to me, they mean a lot less than they once did. In my life I lack a sudden change, similar to the one of going back to school or getting a new job, so the only transition for me is the change in the sun’s path through the sky. More on that on Monday, when we discuss Dan and I’s favorite season, fall.

Summer is often argued as the best season because it is hot. One does not have to wear much clothing, and summer is the best time to hang out in moderate to large bodies of water. It is also a great time to hang out in the shade and read books and the summer has an overall more relaxed feel to it than other seasons do. The winter can be very relaxing if spent next to a fire, but many people prefer the summer to the winter, especially if they are not into winter sports or the cold.

In the Northeast, it is interesting how we can hang out in the same places in the winter as those we can in the summer. I guess what I am really interested by here are the seasons themselves and how these seasons change the landscape and environment. Why would anyone want to live in a place with an infinite summer? Doesn’t that sort of take the point out of it? Isn’t what makes “summer” summer, summer? When’s the last time you saw summer three times in a row? Or four times for that matter?

Summer is wonderful. The way the sun feels on early summer days is the best; I want to drink that sunlight. After clouds of spring, the summer sun flashes into our lives like an atomic blast, and blurs out the cold and rain to surround all with heat. My only gripe with summer is that it is too warm. But the greenery is in full bloom and alive after dormant winter months, and the visual change and filling of the world with color is enough to set my heart ablaze.

Keep in touch. Don’t ever change. And enjoy your summer!