Embracing Summer
"I had me a man in summertime, He had summer-colored skin."
Island summer has fallen upon St. Croix. The air, though obviously warmer, carries the familiar laziness of summer days. I can taste and smell it. Today, against the backdrop of my favorite beach, with the feeling of the sun drying my water soaked skin, and making my hair feel heavy, I remembered summers of my childhood, spent beside my friend's pool. I allowed myself to float, splash, dive and twirl freely in the ocean, like I did before I allowed the curse of adulthood to imprison me and that feeling of freedom. I thought about beach visits with my friend the summer we both turned 17, a year we were determined to have the best tans of our friends. We would sit at the beach for hours each day, eating Subway sandwiches, french onion Sun Chips and sipping frozen pina coladas from the machine at our favorite grocery store. Once home, I snacked on some fresh blueberries I bought earlier in the week, another taste of summer from years past. Now I have a desire for lemonade, or iced tea, which also transport me to happy, beautiful days of summers gone by.
Today, I felt summer in every part of my body and took it all in. Even in a place with no drastic climate changes, summer will always feel different to me.
Island summer has fallen upon St. Croix. The air, though obviously warmer, carries the familiar laziness of summer days. I can taste and smell it. Today, against the backdrop of my favorite beach, with the feeling of the sun drying my water soaked skin, and making my hair feel heavy, I remembered summers of my childhood, spent beside my friend's pool. I allowed myself to float, splash, dive and twirl freely in the ocean, like I did before I allowed the curse of adulthood to imprison me and that feeling of freedom. I thought about beach visits with my friend the summer we both turned 17, a year we were determined to have the best tans of our friends. We would sit at the beach for hours each day, eating Subway sandwiches, french onion Sun Chips and sipping frozen pina coladas from the machine at our favorite grocery store. Once home, I snacked on some fresh blueberries I bought earlier in the week, another taste of summer from years past. Now I have a desire for lemonade, or iced tea, which also transport me to happy, beautiful days of summers gone by.
Today, I felt summer in every part of my body and took it all in. Even in a place with no drastic climate changes, summer will always feel different to me.