"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape..."
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
summertime
Summertime
A little look at our iPhone summer.
Summertime in Charleston is full of beach days and pool time, flip flops and wet swimsuits, picnics and prosecco.
We don't always have the budget to travel to exotic locations every year or to go on exciting adventures every weekend. But we do have the budget to go to the beach for a few hours to ride the waves, search for sharks teeth (my new summer obsession) or watch a few sherbet-colored clouds float by the fading summer sky.
We get to dance for a little while longer under these lovely, lingering summer skies. And I plan on doing more of this. More meals by the sea. More days lived by the rhythm of the waves. More schedules set by sunrises and sunsets. And come August 15th, I will sigh a little more heavily as our once simple days wash out in the waves once more.
Summertime
LIST OF THINGS TO DO
1. SWIM. As much as you can. And stop caring what your thighs look like in a swimsuit. Nobody thinks about it nearly as much as you.
2. RIDE A BIKE. On the beach or in a park.
3. GO OUT FOR ICE CREAM. And eat it outside until it's drippy and messy on your hands.
4. EAT A HOMEGROWN TOMATO. There is nothing better.
5. STAY UP LATE. Because you can.
6. WATCH THE SUNSET BY THE WATER.
7. GO OUTSIDE. Summer doesn't happen inside.
8. GET A PRETTY PEDICURE. With a sassy new color you have never tried.
9. FARMERS MARKETS. You have to fill in the gaps of your own garden.
10. BUY FRESH FLOWERS.
11. WATCH THE SUNRISE. Also by the water if you can.
12. READ. A book. A magazine. An article. Read that one thing you have been putting off becuase life is always too busy.
13. TRAVEL. Even if it's close. Or you have to scrape all your pennies together to do it. You will make more memories on that trip than you will in a whole summer.
14. GET A FRESH HAIRCUT AND COLOR. Because it's summer!
15. WEAR A PRETTY SUNDRESS. And stop worrying about your arms/back/legs. Nobody cares about them but you.
16. PLAY A GAME. Or do a puzzle.
17. GO TO THE MOVIES. There is nothing like a freezing cold, dark movie theater on a steamy hot summer day.
18. BUY A GREAT HAT. You will look good and keep your skin safe!
19. FLIP FLOPS. EVERY DAMN DAY.
20. PLANT A GARDEN. Or a flowerpot with some herbs. You will be so happy you did.
By the sea
in general, landscapes, life, poetic
We are happy by the sea.
Just you and me.
And a friend
or three.
Let's stay here and dance
in the waves
and romance
the notion of better days
and better nights ahead.