From Aveen’s article in this month’s “Queen of the Castle Magazine”

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” -Henry James

 

My youngest son, age five, is all boy. As I write this, he wanders in from outside wearing no shirt, camouflage shorts, a fishing hat and flip-flops. He carries two enormous sticks he has found in the woods out back. He is that unique “end of a perfect summer day” kind of dirty. His face is stained and sticky from popsicles. His feet are frankly filthy from flinging his flip-flops off and walking barefoot in the grass. Innocently, he asks me for a hammer, some nails and a sharp knife so that he can create a crossbow with those sticks. He doesn’t like my answer. As he pleads his case, I lead him to the bath and that magical water soothes him as it removes the layers of grime. Some time later, squeaky clean and content, he smiles up at me and says, “Mom, I love the summer.”

This issue of Queen has explored the theme of water and summer is the fluid time of year. School is out. The days stretch and on a perfect summer evening, we feel a bit more alive. Roving bands of kids wander backyards and play “capture the flag”. Neighbors gather on driveways to catch up and watch fleeting rainbows. Life is good and connection feels effortless at this time of year. When we are fluid and in the present moment, each day of summer feels like a mini- celebration. However, when we put our grown-up glasses on we can quickly squash those perfect days. We then see endless yard-work, bloodthirsty mosquitos, and the effects of 130% humidity on our hair. Instead of embracing this fluid, easy time of year, at times we rebel against the lack of schedule, the growing pile of wet towels and swimsuits on the floor and the fact that our kids seem to want a snack of some sort every five minutes.

What to do when summer begins to get on our nerves? Let’s pause and take three long, summer-filled breaths. Try it. Breathe in slowly for a count of three and out for a count of three. Slow down. Linger as summer calls us to do. Drop out of your head and back into this very moment. The warm and humid air right now makes this it’s own mini-celebration. After all, this is the August issue of Queen! How did that happen? Where did the time go?

Let’s take off those grown-up glasses and fully revel in the fluid nature of August. Soak in the sun. Drink a cold adult beverage outside with some friends. Put that swimsuit on and let the water of lakes and pools help you float and remember how summer used to feel as a kid. Eat fresh and local fruits and vegetables from the farmer’s market. Check out an outdoor concert. Take a walk with no destination. Capture that flag. This August, let’s squeeze every last drop out of summer 2014.

Soon enough, fall will be here. Our mailboxes, filled to the brink with back-to-school catalogs do not let us forget this. We will all too soon be back “on schedule” and will miss this ease. Let’s promise to be so present this month that it stretches on forever, much like that perfect summer evening.

The wonderful poet Mary Oliver in an excerpt of her poem “The Summer Day” sums it up beautifully:

“Who made the world? 
Who made the swan, and the black bear? 
Who made the grasshopper? 
This grasshopper, I mean– the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand. . .
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”