Never Enough Thyme

It’s 3am and I find myself unable to sleep.  I realized that summer is, once more, slipping through my fingers.  It’s happening out there, right now, and I am not taking advantage of it!  Sure, I have a few more days before the official "First Day of Summer,” but what counts is the weather, and the weather right now is warm and sunny.  More importantly, not TOO warm and sunny.  (The forecasted 90+ temps may change my mind on that).

This happens every year, sometimes as early as April or May, other times not until July.  But what does that even mean, taking advantage of summer?  I haven’t really spent good chunks of time outside since I was seven.  So I write down a list, my “summer goals.”

Plant a Garden: I have wanted to do this, in theory, for years.  But each year I make excuses: “I live in an apartment!”  “I didn’t get started soon enough!”  “I don’t know what I am doing!”

It’s the last one that always gets me.  It’s lovely to think of fresh produce I grew myself, and to fondly remember helping my dad in the garden, planting and weeding and picking tomatoes right as the salad is being made to toss them into.  But how do I get started?  There is too much to know, too many mistakes to make.   But if I could raise just one little basil plant, I would call it a garden and I would be proud.

Camping: Years of experience have taught me that if I can get myself to go camping just once a summer, that is a success.  It is such a gamble: the weather, the bugs, the inevitable “Oh no, I forgot the can opener!” moments . . . it seems like it is too much work to be worth it.  Then every time, I lament rolling up the tent and driving away.  I vow that I will go camping again soon!  Soon.  Well, you can see how well that works for me.

Farmer’s Markets: In the summer of 2010, farmer’s markets were the highlight of my week.  Seeing friends, enjoying live music, wine tasting—it was all my entertainment for the week in one evening, plus my grocery shopping!  Since then, my jobs have kept me from indulging my farmer’s market habit, but I still look forward to it every year, hopefully.

Outdoor Concerts: Childhood impressions, they just stick.  For me, that was the Sunday evening band concerts in the park.  In those days, I spent most of them playing in the nearby bushes, making houses or forts.  But it is the music and community that I remember and miss, and every summer I was home I made sure to go at least once.  When I move to a new city and learn that they have outdoor concerts, I am glad to hear it, but I never go.  Is the joy in the place, the concert, or the memory?

Other things I feel a summer is lacking without: picnics, ice cream, a hike in the woods, lots of walks, a cookout, stopping to smell the flowers, swimming, s’mores

What is essential to your summer?