Many say they prefer to live in a location that experiences all four seasons. Not me. I’m like Olaf from Frozen. Summer is my favorite, which is why I live in the Sunshine State, where it’s almost perpetually summer! I grew up in a little town a few miles north of the border between New York State and Pennsylvania, so we had cold winters with lots of snow. I went to college at Syracuse University, which averages over 10 feet of snow annually. (I looked it up!) I think it’s fair to say I filled my snow quota during the first half of my life. Yes, it is pretty, but I am quite content to enjoy photographs of it.
As the official first day of summer approaches, I’ve been thinking about why I have such a fondness for summer. As a kid, the best part of summer, of course, was no school! No quizzes, tests, or homework. (No bullying either.) Just lots of play and freedom to do what I wanted to do. The days were long, so there was plenty of time to ride our bikes, swim in the neighbor’s pool, climb trees, play kickball or tag, or make up our own games, which we did a lot. I was allowed to stay outside until the sun went down around 9 o’clock. When I was a little older, I could stay out past dark to play a game we created called “Flashlights.” It was fun and exciting to be outside at night!
Back then, summer kicked off with the annual Fireman’s Field Days, a carnival-like fundraising event with rides, games, cotton candy, and fireworks. I looked forward to that in June every year. Sometimes in the summer months, my mom or one of my sisters took me and a friend to the Airport Drive-in to see a double feature on the giant screen. The sound quality from the little speaker attached to our car window was usually terrible, but we didn’t care. It was a special treat to be in our own car eating snacks and watching together. Summer was also the time for day trips to picnic and swim at a state park, family vacations at the lake or the ocean, fireworks on the Fourth of July, and my birthday in August. All of these fun things only happened in summer.
When I was in elementary school, our town’s Parks and Recreation Department hired high school or college students to teach arts and crafts at neighborhood parks during the summer. I loved creating animals with pipe cleaners and styrofoam balls or casting plaster in molds and painting the finished product with bright colors. Each week there was a different creative project, so we had five days to work on them. Oh…I think you could play sports too, but that definitely was not my thing. I was much more interested in creating a bunch of stuff my poor mother had no idea what to do with.
At the end of the summer, the Parks and Recreation Department held a parade where each park created a float based on a particular theme. Prizes were given for creativity and execution. I only remember the year the parade theme was movies. Our park created a float based on American Graffiti, and our rival park created one based on The Sting. A quick Google search revealed that both of these movies came out in 1973, so I was 6 years old at the time. I had no clue what American Graffiti was about, but I sure loved dressing up 50s style in a white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans, sunglasses, and my hair slicked back with grease while riding a float with a cardboard record album on the front. I had forgotten all about that until I started typing these words. What a foreshadowing of my 7 years as a parade performer at Disney World!
With so many fond memories of summer, it’s no wonder it’s my favorite. That’s why I felt inspired to offer a special Summer Only Discount on my Spiritual Coaching and Family Constellations Sessions. From now until the Fourth of July, you can purchase a Private Family Constellation Session or a Spiritual Coaching Session for 20% off the regular price. Just use Coupon Code SUMMER20 when purchasing online. If you’d like to buy a Gift Certificate for someone you love or a package of 4 Spiritual Coaching sessions at that 20% discount, use Coupon Code SUMMER2022. This is a Summer Only Special, so all sessions need to be booked and used before autumn begins on September 22. I hope you will take advantage of savings from $22-$80 before the Fourth of July fireworks burst in the sky. Click this link to book a session.
This week, I encourage you to revisit some of your favorite summertime memories, and perhaps recreate a few in the coming months!
Would you not rather greet the summer sun than fix your gaze upon a disappearing snowflake, and shiver in remembrance of the winter’s cold?
A Course in Miracles ~ T-19.IV-A.9:6
