Summer is once again ending and, once again, all too quickly. Labor Day brings an annual melancholy as my favorite time of year starts slipping away against my will.
Thanks to the earth’s tilt we have changing seasons to help us mark our slow but inevitable decay into eventual death. Despite this constant reminder of our mortality, each season brings its own unique and enjoyable aspects: Autumn has colorful leaves and football and Halloween spookiness, the first snow of Winter is magical, the Spring thaw after a long winter brings excitement and rebirth.
But none of those seasons can match summer. Sweet, wonderful summer. You magnificent queen of sunshine. You brilliant bearer of warmth and flip flops and patio beers. You are my forever love.
The Best of Summer:
30. Sleeping with the bedroom windows open
I haven’t shut my window since May. That’s over four months of fresh air circulating into my bedroom and through my lungs.
29. Berry Season
Blueberry season. And strawberry season. And raspberry season. Mmm berries. There’s only one time a year you can get those sweet, fresh, delectably sweet and fresh berries.
28. Hammocks
There is nothing more comfortable than laying in a hammock, reading in a hammock, sleeping in a hammock, sipping LaCroixs in a hammock, or simply being in a hammock.
27. Suntan
I prefer my skin having a nice bronze tan rather than looking like a human-shaped sheet of paper. The summer sun makes this possible.
26. Fireflies
I love watching them light the crepuscule with their blinking green butts. Remember that painter who was famous for making his paintings out of tiny dots? That’s what fireflies do to the evening air: paint it with little green dots.
25. Outdoor concerts
Music sounds better outdoors. That’s a scientific fact. Summer is filled with concerts in beer gardens and in the outdoor amphitheater and at musical festivals. Make sure to look up and appreciate the stars while you’re favorite Phish jam is peaking.
24. Driving your car with the windows down
Warm air hitting your face as you belt out those hit songs of the summer and also those golden-era show tunes.
23. Biking
Actually, forget driving. The windows are always down when you bike, which is great when you aren’t freezing and in summer you’re never freezing. I like biking in all seasons, but in the winter you need to bundle up. In spring and autumn if you don’t have to bundle up, you need to at least bindle up. (Bindling is a lesser version of bundling that I just created).
22. Drinking booze outside
Sure you can drink booze inside but drinking outside amongst nature will at least give the impression that you aren’t squandering your time quite as much.
21. Long Days
In the summer I wake up and the sun is already out, no matter how early I open my eyes. Then in the evening I’m out and about at seven o’clock, eight o’clock, hell even NINE o’clock and it’s STILL light out. That is incredible!
20. Bug Noises
You know that noise that cicadas and other bugs make at night? That constant, high-pitched buzzing? I love that sound! It reminds us that we’re not alone in this world.
19. Trips to the Beach
Lying on the Beach. Tanning on the Beach. Watching sunsets on the Beach. Hiding alcohol from the police on the beach. Going into the water to cool off and pee then returning to the beach. Beach.
18. Pool Time
In Winter has your friend or neighbor ever thrown a killer pool party? One where everyone is having a blast doing cannonballs into the water and drinking sangria and listening to “Uptown Funk” and eating burgers straight off the grill? How about in Spring or Fall? Didn’t think so.
17. Summer clothing
T shirts and Toms. In summer you can roll out of bed and throw on a t-shirt and pair of shorts and walk out the door. No layering up. Do you hate sleeves, pants, and closed-toe shoes? Well there’s no need to ever wear these in summer. (The idea of wearing socks again makes me so sad).
16. The Farmers Market
Sure the farmers market is a convenient, healthy shopping experience, but it’s also a social event. Sometimes I ride my bike to the market on a warm July morning, grab an iced coffee and croissant, and just hang out and converse with all the friends and acquaintances I see. Also, the Kalamazoo Farmers Market has booze-filled night markets in the summer.
15. Sunshine
Look: I need sunshine. It sustains me. An overcast day is fine here and there. But when you string together two straight weeks of cloud cover, as happens each winter, I lose the will to live. Summer has the most sunshine, the most sunny days, the least clouds of any season.
14. Bonfires
Sitting around a bonfire in someone’s backyard, drinking an Oberon while enjoying each other’s company and conversation. Bonus: your clothes will have a nice “burnt-wood” scent until you wash them.
13. The Great Lakes and The GREATEST Lake
Michigan has the Great Lakes and, of course, summer is the best time to enjoy them. But Michigan also has the GREATEST Lake. I’m talking about Gitche Gumee, aka Lake Superior. As great as this lake is, there are only about six weeks a year in which you can bathe yourself in its greatness without freezing to death. And those six weeks are in mid-July to August. There is nothing more rejuvenating than cleansing your body and soul in the refreshing waters of Gitche Gumee.
12. (Near) Nakedness
In summer I can walk around the house in just my underwear. In the other seasons I have to wear my robe or a hoodie or pajama pants because of cold.
11. Boats
I don’t own a boat. And I’m not friends with anyone who does. But I’m sure if I did have boat access I’d mostly use it in the summer.
10. Tubing
Floating down a river on a tube, soaking in the sun, cooling off in the water, drinking a cold beer, and leisurely existing with no cares in the world (except for crashing into the sharp branches which overhang the nearby shore). Egyptian pharaohs used to dream of such an idyllic life.
9. Iced Drinks
Walking around town with a refreshing iced coffee in your hand, or iced latte, or iced tea. Hey, you drink whatever cold drink tickles your pickles.
8. Growing your garden
I admit I’m terrible at it and I can only get about four tomatoes to grow. Nevertheless, harvesting your own fresh produce from your own personal garden is as satisfying as building an ikea dresser quickly and correctly. DIY yo.
7. Camping
Camping lets me get in touch with my caveman roots in a way that’s not actually dangerous, just uncomfortable. Sure you can camp any season, but summer is the only time you don’t need a special sleeping bag to handle cold temperature and it’s the only season you won’t freeze when peeing in the woods in the middle of the night.
6. Thunderstorms
Admit that you love an early morning or a mid-day thunderstorm rolling through as you sit on the porch and read a book or contemplate life. The air loses humidity and you don’t have to water the garden that day.
5. Summer Camp
Throwback to childhood: remember Summer Camp? Getting away from mom and dad for a week and living your best life: singing camp songs, making new friends, and staying up late in the cabin telling everyone about the girl you kissed at the campfire even though everyone knows you are such a huge liar.
4. Inflatables
Adorable, fun, AND practical. I recommend naming them and treating them like part of your family.
3. Up North
Every little up north lake town has a summer charm that cries out: “Grab an ice cream at our only ice cream store and a beer at our only party store (which are both probably connected to the only gas station) and enjoy them by the lake or around the fire.”
2. Ice Cream
Are ice cream shops even open from September-May?
1. Warm Nights
I saved my favorite for last. Whether you’re drinking on a patio, out for an evening stroll, or reading on your back porch, nothing compares to a warm summer night. Warm air in the nighttime exudes this surreal feeling. We’re so conditioned to associate the night with cold, that in the few short months where the night air is warm, it feels unique, not real, too good to be true. For me, nothing can top the ethereal feeling of leaving the bar after midnight and riding my bike through the darkness underneath the ghostly shade of streetlights and the moon while the warm air caresses my skin and hair as I breathe deep a sublime freedom. God I love summer.
The Worst of Summer:
1. Sometimes it gets too hot.
Goodbye My Love
Now I must bid you a fond farewell Summer. We’ll see each other in nine months.
Goodnight Sweet Prince.
Brohemia 