The original rules of summer – excerpt from Summer 20XX
as much of it grilled or skewered over an open fire as you can manage.Mix all cocktails by the pitcher.Start the grill at the same time that you
start serving drinks.Ignore the house. You’re going to be
outside anyway.Alarms are simply a suggestion.
I had always had a gag
list of rules for summer, rules that were really geared for adults to remember
what life was like as a child. The idea behind them was that summer was a time
to let go of the rigid structure that was necessary the rest of the year and
just enjoy the leisures and pleasures.
The first rule was that
there were never enough water balloons. The second, a close follower, was that
there were never enough glow sticks. Through the eyes of a child, the water
balloons always run out too quickly and that all objects that glow in the night
cause your soul to burn just as bright with excitement. As rules should be,
they aren’t comprehensive or lengthy, just conveying a core idea, because
included with glowsticks could be anything that burns bright against the night
sky, including fireworks, bonfires, and the rising and setting activity of the
sun.
These rules were meant to
reorient your thinking during the carefree summer months, to remind you to just
say yes to the childish requests because what you were giving them by allowing
this freedom was so much more than just another water balloon or glowstick. Simple
pleasures meant something to a child and knowing that we care to allow them to
experience those unhindered was a big part of what brought joy to this season.
Some of the rules were meant to remind adults in the same way. I am certain that, like water balloons, there are also never enough bottles of rosé, summer tunes, or siestas, which shape the bright jewels of joy sprinkled across our summer experiences. The world does not cease its rotation if you hit the snooze button to take in a few extra minutes of calm. There was never enough time outdoors, especially if you worked in an office, so if meals were the only time you had, you should spend them in the open air.
I’ve always looked
longingly at articles about summer that touted top activity guides or summer
bucket lists, knowing I didn’t have the time away from work to embrace the
carefree lifestyle that summer should ultimately be about. Those were written
for dreamers, or so I thought. Articles geared to the college crowd who needed
a few last years of celebrating the vivacious life outdoors or to satisfy their
wanderlust. Or maybe they were geared for older women, empty nesters or young
early retirees who had forgotten how to appreciate freedom and were looking to
regain a life of youthful abandon. But not for someone like me – a
career-driven mother of young children whose tuition payment was coming due. But
just maybe this summer, I had the opportunity to give it a try, in a small way.
