The sun’s out, summer’s here and I’m torn. I’m beyond the school holidays phase of life, but there’s still something ingrained into me about making the most of the time that school’s out.
Perhaps it’s because I have a muscle memory of August as a month where I felt an intense pressure to squeeze every bit of joy out of every second. It was my duty to pack the most possible fun into those five weeks. I wrestled with the need to work, the desire to entertain the kids, and the urge to let them (and me) do nothing.
I loved trips to the Zoo and the park and the beach with all the extensive packing and planning and cajoling that they involved, but I equally liked days when we had no plans and time just unwound and stretched out around us. Maybe there was an ice lolly, and that was peak excitement for the day. I miss days like that.
So when I look at these two lists I can see the contradiction between them, and the legacy of Augusts past. Some of the things I really want to do necessitate some of the things I really don’t want to do.
Hate packing, love holidays. Love discovering new places, despise travel delays. Want to do everything, want to just lie in the grass at stare up at a blue sky and breathe.
What I really want to do this summer
Spend an entire day reading a novel from start to finish on a beach. A few conditions for the beach. There is natural shade, preferably from trees, and it’s not too busy. There are no rows of sun loungers/jet skis to be seen. I had to hike to get to the beach. There’s one cafe that serves good coffee and food.
Swim in the sea. Could be during the sunny novel reading day, but could equally be in the rain.
Pick tomatoes and basil from the garden and eat them when they’re still warm.
Sit outside in the evening and watch the bats.
Spend an evening in a different city, explore the side streets, stumble across an amazing place to eat, fantasise about moving there. Check out Right Move. Change my mind.
A day that promises to be a scorcher, so I walk the dog in shady woods very early before anyone else is up. Back by breakfast time, and I spend the rest of the day fanning myself and saying ‘it’s hot, isn’t it?’ and being smugly thankful that I filled up the ice cube tray.
Sunset drinks at the end of a hot day with friends somewhere on Bristol harbourside. I love where I live.
A long grassy meadow walk where the sound of the insects is the loudest noise, and I’m surrounded by butterflies. The hedgerows are bursting with wildflowers and dripping with ripe blackberries.
An outdoor music gig/theatre event in a crowd. I’m seeing Massive Attack on Bristol Downs at the end of August. Last time they played there was a tropical rainstorm, and it was magical. Don’t care if it rains again, in fact I might be disappointed if it doesn’t.
Waking up on the first morning in a new place with days of time stretching ahead of me.
What I really don’t want to do
- An unspecified number of hours (upwards of two) staring at an airport departure board that says DELAYED or AWAIT FURTHER INFORMATION
- The weather is perfect, but I’m in a hot, stationary car on a motorway in a queue that started just after a junction and shows no signs of moving.
- Go to a disappointing BBQ. It’s too hot/too cold, the food is burnt/raw, the person cooking is clearly not having a good time.
- Pack to go away on holiday.
- Unpack after a holiday.
What about you? What do you really want to do this summer?
What do you think?