Summer Optimism

1:41 PM


Sweet summertime has arrived and, as it always does, a sense of hope has seemed to follow. A feeling that I need to be doing things, need to put myself out there, need to strive for all those things that I want but have become disheartened by. Summer has this way of fooling us that it is the most optimistic season and the season of new beginnings simply because it is warm outside. I'm calling bullshit, summer. And yet, even though I know things are just as likely to happen and life is just as grand during the other three seasons, I'm still like a giddy teenager when that first wave of summer hits.

 
That first wave of summer is bliss. It's a taste of the heat, long hours of daylight, and rise in traffic still to come later in the summer. Early in the summer, all of this is still a treat, a novelty. It isn't overdone or too extreme yet. It's just the beginning of a well-loved season, and I soak it all in.
The leaves turn green, the sun warms my skin, my skin darkens, and I'm filled with an overwhelming desire to beat the tourists to the beach (I live in a city by the sea).
So, while the superiority of summer might just be a disillusionment, I get sucked in anyways. I finally decide it is my moment to try that new thing, face rejection and laugh, and just get out there and be active and present.
 
 
Basically this was just a self-righteous, pseudo-thoughtful way of saying, "IT'S SUMMER!" Memorial Day was last weekend, and I gladly spent the weekend doing the following: sleeping in, reading, soaking up sun and swimming at the beach, binge-watching The O.C. with friends, going strawberry and blueberry picking, grilling out, and just enjoying my extra day off.
I even broke out the hose and cleaned our patio furniture. I then rewarded myself with a delicious dinner of garlic parmesan rotini, baby broccoli, and the fruits of my labor (pun intended, I picked those blueberries and strawberries by hand) and ate in the waning light of the evening as I read "Tiny Beautiful Things" by the ever-wonderful Cheryl Strayed.
 

The summer is off to a wonderful start, which is good because it's hear to stay for the next 5(ish) months where I live. Here's hoping its illusion actually becomes reality. Here's hoping this optimistic season provides experiences and opportunities worth being optimistic for.


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