The Freedom of Summer
As I have gotten older, I have noticed that Summer is a season that I have become less friends with. When I was a teenager, if anyone asked me what my favorite season was, the answer just leapt off my lips – SUMMER Duh!
No school, no homework, days spent lounging at the pool, impromptu beach weekends…
I mean come on… there’s no better part about youth than Summertime. That’s why it has peaked my interest so much lately as to why my old friend Summer, has become just that, an old friend.
The magic of summer, at least for me, started disappearing in my mid-twenties. I graduated from college and was a grown-up for the first time in my life, with a real job that didn’t have seasonal breaks. Summer was no longer a vacation from anything and in fact was just kind of a reminder that I could no longer pack up and check out any time I wanted.
I was working hard, all year long and Summer, quite frankly, became a nuisance of hot car commutes and lots of conversations that went something like,
“No, I can’t come to the beach this weekend, I have to work.”
As I am writing this I am remembering all of the summers throughout my teen years where I had weeks full of some activity or trip – visiting my grandparents for a week, home for a week, going to the beach with my family, home for a week, going to the beach with my best friends family, home for a week, going to church camp, home for a week…
This cycle was so exciting. When I was home, I was living poolside with my neighborhood friends – playing sharks and minnows, waiting to see my summer crush walk down the block, staying out “late” at the park. Then I was off to a different place, making more memories, and meeting new people.
Summer was freedom, and I think lately I have felt like it’s gone. How funny is that? As a kid, you think you have no freedom, no choices. But here I am as an adult, wishing I could live as that care-free sun kissed 14-year-old for just a day. Which is why I am dubbing July,
“Summer Bird”.
Going “Down Memory Lane” in June (my monthly theme) awakened a part of me that I have been ignoring – my beach babe summer self. Yea, we get a little busy as adults with jobs, and toddlers, and babies and what not. But no matter how busy life gets, there is no excuse for missing the magic that Summer can give to you.
I realize now that the “break-up” between myself and Summer is on me. Not on the world or my new adult responsibilities. So, in July I am challenging myself to take every opportunity to be spontaneous. This is a hard concept for me as an event planner. I am very OCD about schedules and plans. I sometimes even schedule in a time slot for being spontaneous… kind of defeats the point there! But if there is ever a time or season to be spontaneous, it’s in the season of Fire and Youth, my old friend Summer. Can we become besties again?
I’m not sure what my first spontaneous adventure is going to be, and that’s good right? But I am feeling called to the natural elements like water, mountains, woods, and sun.
My online party shop has one plan in particular that I have become such a fan of – The Magic of Summer Nights. It’s a family camping theme that you can do anywhere from your own back yard to out in the woods.
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