By Kirsten Scott
By the time you read this, I'll be on an airplane, headed to Miami.
That's right, baby. I'm going south. I've packed my bathing suit, my strappy sandals, and a few tank tops. Oh, and a suit or two. Because I'm going to a conference with the day job.
This is one of those times I send up a little prayer of thanks for the day job. :-)
It's been a long, cold winter. We've had lot of snow -- more than we should have in the Pacific NW -- and lots of cold rain. My bones are cold. My skin is pasty white. I'm crabby, a little plumper than I should be, and I've been eating a lot of bread. In short, I need summer.
Everything seems more romantic in summer, doesn't it? You can walk on the beach with your sweetheart, hand in hand. You can share licks of an ice cream cone. You can taunt your man with tiny tanks and short skirts. Your skin gains that golden glow that only the sun can bring. For me, the summer also bring memories of stolen kisses and moonlit nights. Summer is for inappropriate relationships and silly flings that you know won't last.
Summer lovin' anyone? 
Didn't we all love Grease because it took the best of all summer flings -- one with a bad boy you'd never date during a more reputable season, like fall -- and made it permanent? What a perfect fantasy. Dirty Dancing is the same story, isn't it? And what about Mystic Pizza? I never had a fling with a boy named Danny who rode a motorcycle, but I did have a summer affair with a boy in a vacation town I knew I'd never see again. And I love the memory of that boy, and wonder sometime what happened to him. But I also enjoy the fact that I'll never really know.
So while I'm flying to Miami, I wonder if you'll share some of your dreams of summer with me. What are you looking forward to the most? When you remember summers from the past, what do you remember? Garden-ripe tomatoes you can eat off the vine, frosty drinks in an outside bar, or maybe just sitting out under the stars? Ever have a summer fling with a bad boy? Tell all -- and let us fantasize about summer!!
Didn't we all love Grease because it took the best of all summer flings -- one with a bad boy you'd never date during a more reputable season, like fall -- and made it permanent? What a perfect fantasy. Dirty Dancing is the same story, isn't it? And what about Mystic Pizza? I never had a fling with a boy named Danny who rode a motorcycle, but I did have a summer affair with a boy in a vacation town I knew I'd never see again. And I love the memory of that boy, and wonder sometime what happened to him. But I also enjoy the fact that I'll never really know.
So while I'm flying to Miami, I wonder if you'll share some of your dreams of summer with me. What are you looking forward to the most? When you remember summers from the past, what do you remember? Garden-ripe tomatoes you can eat off the vine, frosty drinks in an outside bar, or maybe just sitting out under the stars? Ever have a summer fling with a bad boy? Tell all -- and let us fantasize about summer!!
28 comments:
Moi?
DANG IT! I was wondering why it was so late - this refreshed too slowly and I got distracted :P
And I refuse to read this post b/c it's been snowing here. :P It'll never be summer again. I live in Narnia. During the witch's reign.
Lovely post, Kirsten! I envy you.
Sigh. Summer is so far away down here in Oz, I'm getting depressed just thinking about it! Luckily, the weather is still warm enough for the boys to swim during the Easter holiday but soon enough we'll be in jumpers and track pants.
I have great memories of running wild at summer with a group of kids who all holidayed at the same lake. Yabbying and fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, lazing on the beach. Sigh. Those were the days. And yes there might have been a summer romance or two!
Have fun in Miami, Kirsten!
Bwahahahaha!
Ah, Limecello, you make it hard form me to be smug about snaffling the bird when you're living in eternal winter. That would be my nightmare, you poor sausage. Hope it warms up soon.
lol sausage, Christine?!?!! What're you trying to say?!?!?!
:P And I still refuse to read the post. Stupid summer. It snowed when I went to Boston. And when I was in Madison (Wisconsin). And it was snowing at home the night my flight got in - and we're expecting more snow. So not only am I living in eternal winter (we got more snow in January than we have in the past 32 years) - it *follows me around the country.*
Congrats Christine you are sure to have fun with him.
Great post Kirsten have a great time in Miami, it is cool here in Sydney tonight the coolest it has been for a long while and I gotta say I am loving it sorry I love winter but in saying that Summer is great if you are going on a holiday to the beach and I love going to the beach on holidays we used to have so much fun swimming and swimming some more and then fishing yes I had a summer romance very short one when on holidays with a girlfriend and her parents way back does bring back memories his name was Warren and he had red hair.
limcello I am so sorry it is still snowing where you are I hope it warms up soon for you.
Have Fun
Helen
Kirsten, please post pictures--and maybe some bit of Bandita magic could shove spring north for us?
It's supposed to rain for the next two days--and SNOW AGAIN Sunday night. It's APRIL, people! It never does this is Kansas in April. (Ok, yes, seriously, it does, but still...we are all sick of it.)
Best parts of summer--Fireflies. Talking with the neighbors again in the front yard. Long discussion on what fireworks to buy. Ten pairs of $2 flip-flops in every color. Naps in a hammock in the shade. The smell of hay. Watching those farm boys load the hay onto the wagons. :)
Oh Limecello. you're breaking my heart! Perhaps a little Turkish Delight will help ease your pain? :-)
Seriously, as a former resident of the land of the endless winter, I feel your pain. They're actually forecasting snow for next week around Oregon, so I don't think it's personal. Winter is everywhere!
(Except in Miami!)
Christine, did you really windsurf? I tried once and nearly threw out my back hauling the sail up and down (and that was in my youth!). I'm impressed. Did you kayak in the sea or in rivers? I did a little sea kayaking in Mexico and loved it, but I haven't done any since. Sniff.
Getting old is such a bummer.
Ah Helen, lovely thought of all that swimming! I always forget about how the seasons are different for you in Oz. I know when summer actually comes around I'll be complaining about being too hot. LOL. Right now it's just hard to believe it will ever be warm again!
And woo-woo on the Warren fling! I do love boys with red hair. I had my own red-haired boy in my youth. They're just so...passionate...those red-heads.
Gillian, most of my pictures would be of a nasty hotel conference room, but I will plan on taking at least one from the beach! :-)
Oh, but I love all your summer memories. Fireflies and flipflops. That's summer in a nutshell, isn't it?
Whoops, looks like I better get on the plane! I'll check back in when I get to the east coast!!
Limecello, poor sausage is just a term of affection, don't worry:)
Hmm, Kirsten, I think I came off sounding far more proficient than I was. Windsurfing consisted of hauling up a &^&*% heavy sail, drifting a little way with the current, falling off, getting rescued by a couple of cute boys...
Kayaking was on the lake (very tame except for the stingrays). Great fun, but sea kayaking in Mexico sounds a lot more exotic!
Ah Christine! He wanted a little time in Oz with you! Good on you!
Limecello, I am laughing myself silly over you living in Narnia and it following you around. Too funny! Sending some warm Southern sunshine your way.
Today it is sunny and warm, but we are expected to have a cool snap by Monday. Lows in the 30's. Yuck! Come on, Spring and Summer!
Actually summer here can be described in one word HOTASHELL!!I'm not looking forward to that, but hopefully we'll have a bit of spring before summer comes to visit.
Summer here is endless days of ice cold watermelon and sweet tea. Getting up early to work in my garden before the sun is too hot.
Growing up every summer that we were Stateside meant at trip to PA in the station wagon - Mom, Dad, three kids and Fritz the dachshund. We'd drive 24 hours straight through to PA to visit my Dad's family in Mountain Top. We were always supposed to stay for two weeks, but invariably there would be a family fight and we'd leave after about ten days. Before the fight there were barbecues and lots of adventures in the woods between my Nana's house and my Aunt Shirley's house. We would walk to the little store with our allowance and buy penny candy and ice cream and eat it all on the walk back.
High school summers meant band camp for me. Talk about sweating to the oldies. Taking bets on which freshman was going to pass out in the August sun. Making a Dairy Queen run for lunch.
College summers meant spending lots of time with my sweetie, Roger, who later became my husband. He grew up in the town where I went to college. Dating a "townie" was a big deal back in the old days. We were supposed to date guys from the military academy, but after a lifetime as an Air Force brat I wanted nothing to do with the military. Horseback riding, pick up volleyball and trips to the lake. Good memories!
Hi Kirsten! Have a great conference!
Okay, Christine, I have to ask...what's yabbying?
Summer to me has always meant family. I grew up with an extended family and we were always in each other's pockets. Summer we spent in the pool, helping out with the garden and the yard, having picnics and barbecues.
Now we don't have so much family where we live, but we try to spend lots of time hanging together and with friends.
Christine is this your first rooster nab?
Kirsten, lovely that you're headed to Miami leaving that nasty PNW weather all for meeeeee. We have snow. Yea.
Fruity cool drinks with umbrellas and a wee bit o' alcohol always spell summer for me. I wish I could live year-round on a beach in Hawaii with the sound of the ocean waves forever in my ears and on my mind.
Good morning, Kirsten! What a great post, considering that it's April & we're still struggling to get the old mercury above 40.
I'm more ready for summer than I can say. What I want more than anything is to be able to sail out the door again without a jacket or a hat or scarf & not worry that the elements will actually kill me before the heater in my car kicks in. I want to walk to the mailbox in my pjs to grab the newspaper without fearing I'll freeze in my tracks halfway down the driveway.
But most of all I want to leave the house without the requisite twenty minutes of digging around for those tiny little 2 y. o. mittens--both of them because mismatched mittens is apparently a disaster of epic proportions. I want to drag the wagon to the park & let the kids run like little demons. I want to kick them out into the yard while I clean this house (or burn it down--can't decide which) & throw open the windows as wide as they'll go.
Barring that, I want to fly with you to Miami. :-)
Christine wrote: Yabbying and fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, lazing on the beach.
I'm with Deb--I have to know. Yabbying?
Congrats Christine for nabbing that rooster, better luck next time Limecello!
I'm a Spring and Fall girl myself! I don't like the heat in the summer. Now if I was on a beach somewhere that's a different story. I was more into summer in my younger days. I can say I also met up with a few bad boys in my younger days in the summer.
Hi ya'll!!!
Waving to you from semi-summerish Dallas where I'm kicking back with Suz and enjoying Dreamin' in Dallas!
Can I just say...FABULOUS conference?
I can't wait to plant flowers. All the foilage I planted last year has started to bloom and bud and it's SO exciting.
I'm with you about wearing sandals, shorts...course after a weekend here eating in airports and all the great food.....I'm a bit behind...well....more than a bit.. :-)
Off for a class on world building!!!
Hi Kirsten,
Enjoy that trip to Florida!!
I remember summers when I was in
junior high, when I was entering
my teen years. Mother would take
us to the library and we would come
home with arms full of books. We
were the only house on the block,
the nearest neighbor was a good
block away. We had streets due to
our Dad cutting them out. I'd
take books, a blanket, a soda, and
stretch out under the trees across
the street. I'd spend the whole
afternoon out there reading and
enjoying the summer breezes.Those
were the days!
Pat Cochran
Christine I too love yabbying I have done that a few times when I was young. Yabbies are like a prawn (shrimp) a bit bigger and they live in dams and creeks and are very nice to eat. We used to get an old stocking put a bit of meat in it and the yabbies get their nippers caught in the stocking and you pull them in we used to have lots of fun trying to catch them with my grandparents on their hobby farm.
Have Fun
Helen
Yay, Christine, you're getting to be quite quick nabbing the rooster.
LOL, Limecello, I promise you summer will come. It just feels like it won't sometimes. Today is perfect weather here in California. It's clear and sunny, a mild 63 degrees. The wind's blowing slightly, trees are blossoming. Sigh. Soon it will be REAL summer and the temps will hit over a hundred and we'll worry about fires.
So I just want to enjoy this for a moment or two or three.
But what I do love about summer, Kirsten, is the tomatoes. The ones I grow in my back yard are little miracles. They volunteer every year and are the sweetest I've ever tasted, delicious warm off the vine!
Uh, Christine, what's yabbying?
Oh, Kirsten, I forgot to say have a lovely time in Florida. If you stay long enough, you might see me around the middle of this month!
Christine! I can't believe you snagged the GR. Lucky girl, you! Have fun with him today.
Kirsten, I admit summer is NOT my favorite season. I love autumn! But it's nice not to have to remember layers of outerwear and to know that if you go to the beach, it will be warm enough to swim. I will begrudgingly give summer that much. *g*
Having lived the entirety of my life in the south (except for a miserable year in Texas), I loathe summer. It means unremitting heat, humidity and avoidance of the skin-damaging sun. Not to mention hiding my eyes from the UV rays (which I'm supposed to do). Summer means sweating and the beach means sand clinging to your damp skin and every other damp thing (swimsuits, towels, feet, sandals, etc.). I could live with late spring segueing into autumn and be ever so happy!
I have had a few summer romances, though. Those were fine even WITH the heat and sand!
Summer. I can't wait for grilling out, snow cones, staying up late and getting up early, taking things at my own pace in the morning cause I don't have anywhere to be, writing all day in between checking email and blogs, reading. I can't wait.
LindaC
Kirsten - I long for summer, when I can keep the windows down in my car and crank the radio up loud. I can lick Graeter's mocha chocolate chunk ice cream cones and the family can sit outside to eat - so much easier to keep the kitchen clean that way and barbeque!!!! and fresh salads that actually have taste! Farmer's markets with ripe red tomatoes and sweet corn on the cob and local community festivals which always involve food and art ... I love summer (especially as it means no more taxes).
I'll be heading down to Orlando later in the month for RT. I'm hoping to get a jump on a little summer color then. Margaritas taste better when you drink them outside - did you know that? Go ahead - test out the theory!
I met my husband in the summer in a strange city and in a crowded bar so I guess he's my bad boy fling turned permanent.
We've had it bad for snowstorms on the east coast of Canada, too. 14 and counting. Never know - we could have an April storm...
Good to know your day job is good for a few things, at least. Enjoy your trip. As for summer flingy stories, I only had one of those. With a Greek sailor! And he was gorgeous. It was mega-romantic, and I'll always treasure that memory.
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