Savouring Summer

 

I’m actually just loving this summer so far.

I’ve been on summer vacation, so to speak, for two weeks now. They haven’t gone exactly the way I’d hoped because I wasn’t planning on doing a bit of a home renovation. But I got through that. It’s done. It’s beautiful. And now we move on.

My garden has been incredibly satisfying. Every spring I wonder, Am I going to be able to get it looking as good as it did last summer? And somehow it usually shows up for me… mostly because I show up for it.

It’s never the same from year to year, but it’s always beautiful in different ways. Gardening is one big experiment, and I love waiting to see what that experiment is going to produce. I’ve given up on vegetables, but I don’t miss them. Instead, I have gorgeous perennials and annuals, and I’m now up to seven rose bushes. They’re all blooming, and every time I do my early morning garden walk  they make me smile.

And finally… summer has arrived.

My husband turned on the air conditioning in the middle of June, but most days I was sitting here wishing I could turn on the fireplace but that doesn’t make sense.. It just never felt like summer. But now it does.

I’ve already seen two sets of fireworks. Fireworks just feel like summer to me. They’re festive and uplifting and spectacular. I’d love to have fireworks at my daughter’s wedding, but since it’s happening in the daytime, I’m thinking that might be a little difficult to pull off.

My early morning walks have been well worth the effort. The mornings are beautiful, and once I’ve accomplished that, I usually feel like accomplishing something else. It’s funny how one good decision often leads to another.

I’ve made my first potato salad of the season. We’ve had watermelon. I baked a lovely Fourth of July cake for my husband and me to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary, which happens to fall on July 4th. I have to admit, I love the way Americans celebrate Independence Day. It’s probably the only time I’m ever a little jealous that I don’t live there. I love all the red, white, and blue.

Sometimes I’ll be driving somewhere on one of those perfect summer evenings—taking my mom home after she’s spent the afternoon with us or heading to Costco for cheap gas—and I find myself wishing I had somewhere to go just to soak up the evening. But most of the time I simply head back home. Gas is too expensive for aimless joyrides.

We did spend an evening at the Stampede, though. The Stampede itself left a little to be desired this year, but it was still a lovely summer evening. And the fireworks made it all worth it for me. My husband and I also went to see one of the big summer blockbuster movies. We didn’t understand half of it, but that’s okay. The popcorn was excellent, and when we got home our son explained the entire plot to us.

My mom loves coming over to sit on our deck. Her apartment gets unbearably warm in the summer because she doesn’t have air conditioning, so bringing her here for the afternoon has become one of my favourite little routines. We usually stop for Starbucks on the way, and then she sits outside as long as she wants, enjoying the breeze and the flowers.

And the best part?

I still have seven more full weeks before I have to go back to work.

There are gardens to tend, books to read, walks to take, movies to watch, roses to admire, and probably a few more fireworks to enjoy.  Well maybe not fireworks but for sure, thunderstorms with lightning.

I’m planning on savouring every bit of it and holding these summer memories close to my heart… so that when January arrives, I can pull them out again and live on them for a while.