• Lemon custard ice cream in a sugar cone

• Walks without jackets

• Kites on the beach

• Squeals of laughter in the surf

• Bicycles with baskets carrying picnics—or puppies

• Twilight at 9 pm

• Planning get aways

• Sunglasses and sunscreen

• A long list of books to read

• Time to draw, to write, to play

• Beanbag toss after dinner

• Radios turned up loud

• Party lights on a patio

• Salads for dinner, corn-on-the-cob, the smell of a barbecue

• Tow-headed toddlers

• Hotels with swimming pools

• Dogs groomed for summer

• Saltwater taffy

• Music from a merry-go-round

• Ceiling fans spinning over the bed

• That lazy sound of a small plane flying overhead…bonus points if it’s pulling a banner

• White shorts, striped shirts

• Beach umbrellas

• Time lengthening like a shadow

• Cool breezes

• Quilts folded and ready for picnics

• Late-night adventures

• Baseball games—better yet, milkshakes at baseball games

• A bowl of red, ripe watermelon

• Kids running in sprinklers

• Pool rafts and pool noodles

• Coffee outside, lemonade outside, iced tea outside

• Lemonade stands

• Sandcastles

• Red buckets, blue and yellow shovels

• Birthday celebrations in the park

• Hide-n-seek at dusk

• Watching a movie outside

• Ongoing games of Monopoly

• A jigsaw puzzle started in July and finished in September

• Homemade popsicles

• Craft projects

• Putting off chores to go do something fun

• Giggling with friends

• Early morning walks before anyone else is out

• Putting little umbrellas in everyone’s drink—instant party

• Trying to get your cat to talk…summer seems magical enough to be able to do that

• Finding a new hobby—or relishing an established one

• Speaking of relish: hot dogs

• A loaf of bread, some cheese and grapes is dinner!

• Thinking about who you’ll be next season, what will have changed

• Exploring your own city

• Exploring a new city

• Clothes drying outside

• Throwing your feet off the pedals

• Roller coasters, water rides, cotton candy

• Gauzy curtains blowing in the breeze

• Ambling along gravel roads with no place in particular to go

• Taking home an armful of books from the library

• Hearing that one particular birdsong every summer morning

• State fairs

• Time for “I remember…”

Now, go write a story or a poem celebrating some of this magical summer stuff.

~gail

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