welcome, Summer!

 

Happy Wednesday, friends, and happy Summer! It really does feel like summer before the season actually arrives, doesn't it? I don't know what the weather is like where you live, but once mid-May comes, it's like summer weather hit the ground with its feet running. Since today is the actual day that it truly begins, I thought I'd talk about it here.

What does summer mean to you? I can tell you what it used to mean to me. When the boys were little, it meant that we threw out the daily routine along with the very tired school supplies at the end of each school year. It meant that our house was no longer just our own—there was a revolving door to all the people and friends who came and went all summer long. It meant that I cooked lighter meals, we stayed up later on the week nights, we all darkened in our coloring, and we did as many fun things together as possible. I always used to get each of them to come with lists of what they wanted to do during the time off, and we tried to get all their requests checked off. I used to take them to movies on Tuesdays, because the local theater would replay old favorites, and for just a few dollars we could sit in a cool and dark theater and snack on popcorn, drinks and candy. We went on picnics, we swam in pools, we did all the fun things with their friends from church. We took advantage of the free passes to museums, and we did fun things with my dad almost every single Friday. 

Summer is a lot different now that they're all older, but the mentality feels the same. I still cook lighter meals, because who wants the oven to heat up the whole house when it's already hot enough? I am more likely to stay up later reading or watching a movie, and I still like to take advantage of more daylight hours. Although we haven't yet done this at this point in time, we like to sit outside under the lights of the stars and the ones strung over our deck—I love sitting out there with Todd while we talk, or watch tv, and sip a cold drink. I still love to spend time in the water, whether swimming or floating. I love to read beachy books, and travel vicariously throughout the pages. To me, sunsets are the most beautiful in summer, though I don't have the evidence to back it up. I took my dog Crash for a ride last night to watch ours, and even though it started raining and wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped, is any sunset ever anything but that?

Look at his sweet little face!

I love seeing all the beautiful flowers all around, and I wish I could say that I love caring for them, but I just don't love that. I should, because I love to see them! I have been doing better, though, and have been working on the upkeep of our flower beds. Each of the boys has taken a turn to help me, which is really sweet. We were all outside for hours on Monday night doing yard things. Jonah was washing his truck, so Todd cut the front yard and edged, while Noah and I pulled weeds from our flower beds and assessed the plant/bush situation. All of them survived, except for one poor hydrangea. Here is what they all looked like the first summer after we had them done.

I've learned that I have a love/hate relationship with these hydrangeas. As beautiful as they are at the moment these pictures were taken, they didn't stay that way for long. I don't know if it was how we did or didn't take care of them, if it was a bug or slugs that got to them, or the intense heat and sunshine that they caught because we face north and they were planted on the west side of the house—they only lasted for a few weeks looking like this. If you have thoughts on this, feel free to chime in! 

How inviting is this?! We keep cleaning it and it keeps getting messed up again. Maybe this will be the week it'll stick. We didn't buy more ferns this year, instead we bought lemongrass to help keep mosquitos away. I love how it looks way more than these ferns, and it's doing great where he put them. If I ever get out there while it's cleaned up enough for pictures, I'll share it here. The tv we have for outside hangs on the first post on the left where the black hardware is. We keep it stored until we actually get outside to use it, though. 

I also love going to a farmer's market in the summer! I've learned it's best to go early, though, and I'm going to try to get the one here by my house on Thursday. I love visiting nurseries, and I even love perusing the aisles at Lowe's, where I seem to keep finding myself. I love hearing the insects make noise at night when I walk outside, and I love hearing all of the birds chirp and pick at things left in our yard. I love celebrating the fourth of July with our family and I love seeing/hearing the fireworks that go off at all hours of night. I have always said that I don't love summer, but you know what? I was wrong! It turns out I do actually love this time of year, even if I sweat half to death. I do that anyway, so what does it matter if it's in the fall, winter, spring, or summer? I think I'm just learning to enjoy every season in life, both literally and figuratively. It's good to find joy in the mundane, don't you think? 

One last thing, and these pictures below represent all the retro summer feels.

This was the summer I was around nine or ten, and it's on a lake I grew up on—Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Check out my dad (and his trunks!) and my stepmom Sandy! I remember that bathing suit she wore like it was yesterday. The other two people in the picture are my best friend Stacy from my childhood, and her mom Barbara. Guess who was the one taking the picture? You probably guessed right—me! Lastly is a place that was so cool that I visited two or three times as a young girl: Maywood beach in Olive Branch, Mississippi, which was about 45 minutes away from where we lived. It was a lake filled with water from a reservoir with sand (imported from Destin, Florida) at the bottom.

So, tell me, friends: what do you love about summer? Are the certain things you look forward to each year? I'd love to hear them! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!