Savoring Summer

I'm looking forward to summer. All those long, lazy days ahead, stretching beyond the horizon -- all that idle time just waiting to be filled with outdoor fun. Yep, I can't wait for summer to begin. Wait a minute -- it already has?! It's almost the middle of July . . . what happened to June?

Fooled again! It happens every year, you know. As the school year draws to a close, I start to relax and leisurely ease into my summer routine. On the floor next to the bed I keep a stack of books I intend to read this summer. I make to-do lists for painting projects, pencil in concerts I want to see on my calendar, make note of must-see summer movies. I know I planned for all of that, but here's the thing -- it's the middle of July, and I haven't done very much! Oh, I've taught lots of lessons and organized flute choir rehearsals. I've filed music and cleaned out the basement. And I'm almost finished with the book I expected to have read by June 15th! I've seen a handful of movies, and I enjoyed hearing a couple of outdoor concerts. But mostly I've just continued the same routine I keep all the rest of the year; the only difference is I get to sleep later.

So how nice that last week I actually did something truly summery. I must admit, it involved conducting a rehearsal (or "work" as I know it). My adult flute choir gathered at the home of one of the members for a rehearsal/potluck dinner . . . and boat ride! Barb, the hostess, lives on a lake, and she generously offered to host the rehearsal at her house and suggested making it a social occasion. After about an hour of rehearsing, the nine of us sat down to dinner and then, around 8:30 pm, we went out on the lake in Barb's boat. It was a beautiful, calm evening. The water was smooth as glass as we toured the lake under the setting sun, sipping our wine and sharing stories of our travels and favorite vacations. It was one of those evenings when it didn't matter what the time was; indeed, time seemed to stop altogether -- one of those rare moments you actually savor. At least I did.

It lasted only three hours, but, in some respects, the evening seemed longer. I wish it could have been longer. It occurs to me that we don't experience many moments like that. Not because they're rare (they don't have to be), but because we're usually too busy to appreciate them. "Stop and smell the flowers" may be a corny cliche, but there's a lot of wisdom in it. Summer is the one time of year when we have permission to stop and smell the flowers, sit on the deck and read a book, stay up late to write a blog entry about savoring those summer moments. It's okay -- I can sleep in tomorrow. After all, it's summer.