Savoring Summer

I bought a sweater online last week. A fluffy, long-sleeved, sweater. This was optimistic because—as I am sure you noticed no matter where you happen to live—it’s been a hot summer. Lord, I don’t know what you’re baking, but it is done. I think because it has been so blazing hot, we are rushing to end the summer and move on to fall. I heard last week that Dunkin Donuts is ready to roll out the pumpkin spice (unpopular opinion: it’s way too SOON). We are already excitedly discussing football season, tailgating, and those glorious days when climbing stadium steps and the way your love for your team makes your little heart race is all the cardio you need for a Saturday. But wait. Hold on a second.

I want to savor what’s left of summer. Let’s remember that, here in the South, even as fall approaches, we will still be hot for another month or more (you have not experienced a Southern football tailgate until you have tried to look cute, have fun, and cheer on your alma mater for a 12-hour day when the heat index hovers around 100 degrees and there is at least 80 percent humidity covering you like a stadium blanket). Labor Day is considered the unofficial end of summer, so we still have a little more lazy day, barefoot-in-the-sunshine time left to enjoy before we start carving jack-o-lanterns and eating candy corn—although my neighbor did confess he already bought a bag of it last week. Good grief, Mark.

Ah, summer Saturdays floating in the pool. As much as I love fall, I do hate to see these kind of afternoons come to an end.

We tried going to the farmer’s market on two different days last week to procure some decent tomatoes. Yes, we are reduced to the farmer’s market because we are horrible gardeners and everyone knows grocery store tomatoes aren’t fit for deer to eat. Because I can’t eaten gluten any more and ergo, can’t have good white loaf bread, I haven’t had a tomato “sink sandwich” in two summers. I can stand the idea of slicing up a big, delicious tomato and slathering two slices of gluten-free, crumbling, alleged “bread” and attempting to call it a sandwich. But I was going to try and concoct some kind of ode to summer in an almond flour tortilla (you scoff because you can, gluten eaters). The farmer’s market was closed both days; the first time was an error on my part for not checking their very erratic schedule before stopping by, but on the second attempt a check of their website (I am shocked to my core that farmers’ markets have websites. Is the produce delivered in flying cars now? This is the future and we are living in it) revealed that this the week of their annual vacation. What are the odds? I think my sink sandwich itch is going to remain unscratched for the foreseeable future. Perhaps the universe is trying to save me from mucking up a good thing with my almond tortilla no-gluten ridiculousness. Or I have terrible luck. What I do not have, sadly, is a tomato sandwich. I have a couple of weeks to keep trying though. Summer, hold on.

We are leaving on Sunday for our vacation—woo hoo! We did not take a summer vacation last year, and our only real getaway was a long weekend in the Bahamas in December. It was nice, but very short, and I am ready to throw my swimsuit and flip flops in a suitcase and get out of dodge. I want to smell like salt air and suntan lotion for a week, and we are going to visit the Turks and Caicos islands for the first time. I cannot wait to get there…and do a lot of nothing. We have (of course) looked at menus for some amazing restaurants and made dinner plans, but other than that, our biggest decisions will be beach or pool, breakfast a la cart or buffet, frozen drinks or on the rocks. I love summer because it means vacation season is upon us. Summer, hold on until I get to the beach.

The days in the summer are the longest they are all year. We get lots of sunlight and time to do things like going to the lake, running through the sprinkler, and eating outdoors (I love a good summer cookout). What says summertime more than going to a baseball game? Or, like us, are your neighbors STILL working their way through all the fireworks they bought for July 4? (Seriously, people. That was fun, give it a rest.) We have had some cooler afternoons where we have chosen an adventurous cocktail from the Internet and had a patio happy hour, just me, Clint, and the dogs—well, the dogs didn’t imbibe, but you know what I mean. We can continue that in the fall, but more daylight just feels like it gives us more time, and summer gives us the excuse to slow down a bit. Summer, hold on. I want to savor it just a little bit more.

Summer happy hours are one of the things I will miss when life gets busy in the fall.

I adore fall. When the weather is cooler and it is time for autumn leaves and pumpkins, I will be ready to embrace and enjoy all the wonderful things about that season that I love so well. It’s just not quite time yet. And so, for a few more weeks, eat Popsicles. Go for a swim. Wear those shorts and flip flops and enjoy the fact that t-shirts are formal attire in the summer months. Sit on the porch with a glass of lemonade. Find some shade and read a book. Catch lightning bugs. Eat a tomato sandwich and when the juice runs down your elbows, think of me. Savor these last fleeting moments of long, hot summer days before they’re gone and enjoy every bit of them, like salt on your watermelon.

Happy summer! (No big hair was harmed in the making of this picture).