That Summer Feeling - OUTSIDE!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a weekend that reminded me of Summer.  Not summer, the hot season full of projects and busy-ness, but Summer, as in Summer Vacation from School.

And not the short, anemic, pitiful, so-called "summer break" so many kids have now.  Our school calendar ends the first week of June and starts August 1 - about a seven-week break, if there are no snow days to make up.

For me, Summer was thirteen glorious weeks of freedom - plenty of time to get bored and long for school to start again.  I'd get on my bike, pick up a friend or two, and we'd ride all over the neighborhood, aimlessly exploring all the streets.  Or we'd head to the creek that ran behind our houses and explore - again, aimlessly.

I've been adulting for decades.  It's been a long time since I had a Summer with a capital "S" but I got a taste of it.

That Thursday, I went exploring in the country - aimlessly!  I found a park I'd never visited and two quiet public access sites to the river.  Once I turned off the car, it was as if I were far away from home in the middle of nowhere.  At both places, I could only hear birds singing, and at one, just barely, a lawnmower.  I sat there for a little while and just soaked in the quiet and the sounds of being outside.

Friday, I drove up to the marina and went sailing.  I haven’t sailed the boat in a couple of years, what with bad weather, babies, schedules, working, and all the typical excuses.  I was on the water for a couple of hours - sunburn!  But not bad.  Just enough to know I’d been out a while - another Summer sensation.  It was soothing to just sail around - aimlessly!

Saturday, I went on my first Volksmarch since 1993 (now there's a thought)!  The route wandered from a park in the next town north, through the town, across the lake, through another park, and back.  Crossing the lake, I saw turtles basking on logs and a great blue heron guarding a dock.  They looked like they were enjoying Summer.

Sunday, I went to church at my church's woodsy outdoor chapel.  Sitting on a wooden bench under the trees for a worship service took me back to church camp.

Those few days felt like summer vacation.  All that time outside, the exploration, and the aimlessness.  It seems everything you do as an adult has a specific purpose or goal.  It was freeing to just BE for a change.

Enough adulting!  I’ll keep trying to recapture that feeling - aimless and outside!