Sundresses, bikinis, BBQs, and beer – the necessities of summer are brilliantly basic. Summer is social, summer is fun, summer is sexy. Summer is vibrant and full of adventure. Everything comes back to life in the summer. Summer is the season for fashion risks, neon colors, and white pants. And it all begins with the Summer Solstice … my favorite day of the year.
I should say, for many reasons, there isn’t a day on the calendar that excites me more. To start, the first day of summer is the longest day of the year. To be exact, this year the sun rose at 5:25 and it will set at 8:31 here in the Northeast, giving us 15 hours of unadulterated sunshine. On top of that, this year also gifts us with a Strawberry Moon – when the full moon coincides with the Solstice – for the first time in 70 years.
My charged emotions for this day stems from growing up in Pennsylvania and now spending half of my time in New York City. The winters can be long and brutal. Then some years, specifically like this one, spring floods our hope for sunny days with torrential downpours, giving us no option but to pray for the silver lining that is summer.
So yes, I’ve always had childish excitement for the day when the calendar reminds me that it’s Summer Solstice. In my mind all I hear is “It is official, it is summer.” I’ll be playing “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince on repeat throughout the day, as I look back fondly at all the fun summers of the past, plotting for the season ahead.
Summer also brings out my inner nature-loving, adventure-seeking persona. Over the summer, my free time is well spent. During the day, I’ll be cruising on my bike, rollerblading, stand-up paddle boarding or going for long hikes. I take all that extra energy I get from the sunlight and play outside as much as possible. At night I love sitting outside anywhere: bonfires at the beach, campfires at the lake, patios and rooftops … anywhere I can take in the night sky. The warm air at night makes it so easy to stay up later and sit under the stars longer. There is something so magical about air at night during the summer and so relaxing after a long day in the sun.
Summer is when we should be making plans with our friends and hopefully the least amount of plans for work. Summer is when we take road trips, vacations, visit different beaches, maybe catch a baseball game. There are endless lists of awesome summer activities. Summer is when we should take more pictures and make more memories. Summer is that very special time of the year when time stands still enough that, if you allow yourself, you can actually stop worrying about life and really just live it.
This piece was published by The Stashed June 20th, 2016