
I like to think summer picks up steam as July rolls into August and we aim for the grand stand of summer’s bell lap.
Our skin smells like sunscreen and lake water or chlorine; our toes wriggle in the breeze.
Maybe we’ve coasted a lap or two, thinking we’ll hit the beach another day.
But, August is that starter’s pistol telling us to kick it in gear.
Let’s go!
A few months ago we made a summer to-do list and I checked it twice last night. Happily, we’ve completed a lot of our ideas. We have:
Roasted marshmallows
Tubed down a river
Gone to a Timber Rattler game
Had a picnic
Gone swimming (this one we do a lot)
Bought lemonade from a stand
Walked barefoot
Had a campfire
Picked strawberries
Gone to the Farmer’s Market
Grilled burgers
Eaten ice cream cones (we do this one a lot too)
Ridden our bikes
Chalked our walk
Gone to a petting zoo
Blown bubbles
Gone to a parade
Here are a few things we still need to do:
Go on a boat ride
Make a sandcastle on a beach
Ride a roller coaster
Find a waterfall
Ride the trolley
Go to a fair
Mostly, we’re going to spend the next several weeks soaking in as much sunshine as we can, listening to the laughter that drifts over to our house from the park across the street, appreciating how quickly we can get dressed in the morning when we can slip on sandals and we don’t have to search for socks and mittens, enjoying sunsets and swings, taking rides with the top down, sleeping with the windows open, sitting on our front porch, playing in our favorite parks, finding live music, exploring new places.
We’re going to run through the finish line of this bell lap and we hope you can too!

