I'm an Autumn girl through and through, but there is something about summer that really gets me excited. Here in Arizona, even up here in Northern Arizona, June 20th doesn't feel like the first day of summer at all- it kind of hits somewhere in early May. But it's still a day to celebrate because really, why not? It's funny because when I was a student and later a teacher, summer always had such a feeling of freedom and always held such promise of adventure. I can still remember that excited feeling of signing yearbooks, teachers letting us act a little crazier than normal, and then that glorious, final bell at the end of the last school day. And even when I was a teacher myself, I can recall finishing my grades, closing up my room, and getting in my car, driving away with the windows down, looking ahead to a wide open summer. Well, that's kind of a romanticized version. In reality no matter how much I had loved the past year, I'd rush to turn my grades in as quickly as possible, literally run out of the school, throw off my confining, tattoo-covering cardigan, breathe out a huge sigh of relief I didn't have to deal with the occasional annoying student anymore, and get the hell out of there. And my windows were actually probably rolled up so no one would want to talk and slow me down. Truth.
But really, besides thinking back to that sweet post-school freedom, to me summer is about family and friends. We always seem to slow down a little more, want to take the long way home, make time for downtown walks and try to eat outside as much as possible. I love it. And since Wednesday was the first day of summer Henry and I decided to enjoy it with a little picnic with friends and ended the night downtown with Hank, eating Mexican food on a park bench and people watching for awhile. Perfect.
Happy summer!
