Ode to Summer

It has finally gotten so consistently warm that I no longer fear a random snow storm.  Ever since I moved to MT, I have approached summer with a cautious hope, usually to have it squashed a few times along the way when a freak snowfall interrupts a string of beautiful 70 degree days.  After a couldn’t-be-better Memorial Day weekend, I think it’s officially summer.  On that note, I’d like to share why summer is my favorite season ever:

 

–Sun-kissed skin…I never seem to notice my tan (or lack thereof) during the winter months, but as soon as daylight savings hits and the sun is out from the time I wake up to the time I hit the sack, I start to crave color.  Not in the “my tan is darker than your tan” sense, but in the “I need to be outside in the sunshine after being cooped up all winter while watching snow fall” way.  There is nothing better than spending hours outside, whether at a street fair, a pool, a hiking trail, whatever your fancy, then coming home and seeing tan lines.  I know skin cancer is rampant, and as vigilant as I am with sunscreen, I always end up with a few more freckles at the end of the summer; but I can’t help it.

 

–Camping…So I usually have to wash my hair twice before the campfire smell goes away, and I usually dream of bears attacking my tent, but I LOVE camping.  Most of the campsites here in MT are completely out of cell phone range and accessible only by really crappy dirt roads, so I feel blissfully out of touch with reality.  The food tastes better when it’s cooked over an open flame.  It’s acceptable to eat a whole marshmallow bag worth of s’mores.  And I can sit around a campfire, doing nothing but drinking a beer and reading a book, and not feel lazy. 

 

–Flip flops…I hate shoes.  I spend a good 8 months in wool socks and boots.  Flip flops and sandals will be the only things on my feet from May to September, unless I’m at the gym.  And that’s only because they won’t let me on the machines otherwise.

 

–Fresh air…There are 4 people and 4 animals in my house.  All crammed together throughout the long winter months.  We by no means smell, but one breathes a lot better when the windows are open and the breeze is blowing in the pleasant scent of the neighbor’s jasmine and tulips.

 

–The beach…Prior to a trip to the New Zealand coast in April, I hadn’t seen a beach in 2 years.  I used to live within 2 hours of the beach.  Every summer, I miss it.  Sand, waves, shells, surfers, piers, fishermen…everything about the beach is amazing.  I’ve had a lot of people here in MT try to comfort me with “well, we have a lot of lakes.”  True, and they’re a blast in their own way, but all the freshwater fun in the world couldn’t hold a candle to my sunny, sandy paradise.