As I was doing casual laps in a circle around the pool tonight prior to going to ballet class it occurred to me that maybe part of my issues with the seasons that aren't Summer (in addition to not wanting to be cold) are that the other seasons all come with OBLIGATIONS. I HATE obligations. As soon as Summer ends things get all crazy with shit. HalloweenThanksgivingChristmasNewYear'sValentine'sDay…everything just HAPPENS and suddenly you're arguing about where to spend C'mas or how to have a vegan T'giving to appease some distant relative's significant other.
Summer? No Summer doesn't do that. Summer comes free of obligations. The only "holidays" are MemDay, July 4th and Labor Day and their distinction is that there are no obligations. Yup, it's true. You can get invited to 14 bbq's and 4 pool parties and not go to any of them or go to all of them and no one cares.
It's carefree and rather childish, or actually rather teenager-ish to enjoy the lack of obligations so much but I think that's a big part of it (other than the sultry warm weather and dripping humidity which come with their own dose of teenage angst and oversexed hormones).
Summer has iconic Summer songs associated with it. Everyone has a few Summer songs that immediately conjure up specific memories, even specific smells that make a person feel young again, invincible, HOPEFUL. No other season has that, sure, C'mas has its own music but it just isn't the same, it's something that everyone shares, to the point of irritation we all share too many C'mas songs in stores, in advertising…EVERYWHERE but Summer songs? Those dig deep, they speak to someone's individual heart and soul, they get personal.
So those were my reflections from the pool today. Summer is more than just heat and humidity, it's my favorite years, it's being a girl in my Summer clothes, it's flirting with boys on the boardwalk until the sun comes up, it's walking out of a sweaty club and seeing the sun rising over the beach, wash, rinse, repeat.
It's Italian ice for breakfast and a long nap on the beach. It's a bike ride at dawn and another one at dusk. It's short nights and long, long, sultry days.
It's not wondering where to eat C'mas dinner or what to buy Aunt Martha this year. I admit that I can wax romantic over C'mas songs and can kill a December afternoon staring at Hallmark holiday flicks but one needs to pass the cooler months SOMEHOW.
It's going to all 14 BBQ's AND those 4 pool parties in one day then watching the fireworks burst over the beach.
Summer = Heaven
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