anyhow, that's over now. we owe it to ourselves...

What signifies the beginning of summer for you?

I was trying to figure this out for myself recently. Is it the first cookout of the year, or the first visit to the pool? First beach trip, first snowball, first trip longer than a weekend? First time in a lake, first outdoor concert? First twinkle from a lightning bug, first evening sitting outside while the crickets chirp and cicadas buzz? Last day of school? Last big project? Saying goodbye to certain people or hello to old friends?

I love to set little goals and structure my life around milestones like this. I realized though, that it's no one thing in particular for me, but a feeling of freedom that washes over me at some random time. Maybe I'm biting into a hot dog or talking to someone while sitting in the grass, and I suddenly realize, This is it. I have nowhere to be but fully here. There is nothing more important than this moment. The responsibility of the last several months has fallen off my shoulders and I won't miss it one bit for the next few months. Everything I enjoy most about life, like spending time with people and eating delicious food and feeling grass beneath my feet, is no longer a luxury to be put aside until I've earned it but an everyday part of life.

Maybe this feeling is particular to my profession, but I can't help that believe because of the society most of us were raised in, we feel a certain freedom that comes with summer, even if we have a job to be at the next morning. Even if your favorite season is winter and you don't particularly love hot weather, isn't there a nostalgia that it brings? A sense that the things weighing you down are losing importance and all of nature is telling you just to chill out for a little while?

Well, either way, do you have a beginning of summer moment?