Welcome Summer

Summer is officially here and I’ve made sure the house is in hibernation mode: books-check, tea bags-check, car in the garage-check, outdoor furniture-check, 40 pounds of birdseed-check, case of Pellegrino-check. You can feel the streets and stores and restaurants filling with a new summer energy- marinas near capacity, parking at a premium. For some, a time to put on their dancing shoes, for me, a good time to settle in.

Someone saw the first firefly last night - a fitting guest on the summer solstice – tiny bits of magic lighting up the night. First the peepers, then the fireflies, then the cicadas - can we set our clocks to their arrival? The young geese are nearly ready to fly, the nest of baby birds now empty, a scattering of young leaves already on the sidewalk. My niece muses, ‘why in April do I think of October and why in October do I think of April?’ I wonder if we are always wishing away the seasons while preparing for the next.

Growing up we lost our shoes on the first day of summer vacation as our soles toughened to leather and our souls softened to sunlight- catching fireflies- roasting marshmallows, playing SPUD, and Hopscotch, and Red-Light Green-Light with the grass between our toes. Summer sang of beach days, barbeques, canoeing, and letting the tide in the channel behind our house carry us along the marshy banks.

Summer painted new shafts of light in our bedrooms as the sun itself gifted us with more time outdoors. No alarm clocks or homework or buses to catch - just a freedom that filled us completely as we shook off the expectations of the past school year and drifted into the spaciousness of summer.

That simple living shaped our spirits and reminded us of the beauty of life-this miracle we’ve been afforded and called to craft with care. To be reminded to stay awake and alive to the soul and the sound of the seasons without wishing them away or forgetting their call.

We can still carry our ripening souls away from the summer throng with early morning tea at the ocean, a book in the backyard, and sunsets at Long Beach. Morning offers a special quiet – an invitation into a new day and starlit nights offer peace and a glimpse into eternity.

Hoping that each day of summer fills you with enough sunlight for your cheeks to glow -enough quiet to hear the birds sing and enough peace to get lost in the pages of an amazing book. Happy Summer everyone!