Summer is How Life Should Be

Growing up, I don’t think that Minnesota Summer meant much to me. 

It was just a normal part of life –

You go to school from September through June,

And then summer comes around.

When you don’t have to go to school.

You don’t have to study.

You get to go to the library and summer camps.

And before you knew it, it was time for back-to-school.

Now, I live for Minnesota Summer.

Maybe because it’s the hope that we live for 9 months out of the year.

9 freezing months of scraping our cars and shoveling driveways.

When we were kids, our parents did that.

Now we have to.

When I was in college, I loved spring.

Spring, because it meant we had survived most of the year.

Spring, because people wore flip-flops and played Frisbee when it was 40 degrees.

Spring, because it brought promise of new life and fresh beginnings.

Spring, because it meant that summer was coming.

Because Minnesota Summer is the time of year when you get to live that new life.

Windows down.

When you get to explore those new beginnings.

Learn to ski. Listen to new music.

When you get to sit around bonfires with old friends

And laugh at how your survived the year.

I don’t only mean the weather.

Maybe I love Minnesota Summer

Because I’m grown up now.

And Minnesota Summer gives me the opportunity to

Be free

Be careless

Explore

Release inhibitions

Be adventurous

Be unproductive

These are often things we expect of children.

But now, as adults, are given permission to do only in the summer.

Because winter – jobs – responsibility – don’t allow them.

Minnesota Summer means

Driving with the wind in my hair

Windows down, music up

And taking the long way home

It means my happy place
Is behind a boat, gliding over the water

It means
Family time

Grilling out

Long walks

Bonfire talks

Mojitos

Old friends

Outdoor concerts

Ice cream.

Lake life

Sunburn.

Road trips

Watersports.

Breakfast on the porch

Iced coffee

Stargazing

Good books

Movies

Late nights

Runs in the sun. Around lakes. Through forests.

S’mores.

Laugh. Sweat. Swim. Boat. Eat. Drink. Dive. Sing. Sunburn. Meander. Dream.

Take time to be.

Take time to be free.

Take time to enjoy.

Because summer is how life should be.

This is Minnesota Summer

Summer is almost over, and it is almost time to move on.  Not into winter, but over to India.
Minnesota summer is my absolute favorite season of the year, and I hope that it is something that I will always be a part of.

If I had to sum it up in three photos, Minnesota summer would be best described by

 Sidewalk chalk.  This begins to appear in March, and it's a sure sign that summer is coming.
Creativity is uninhibited, and it continues in this fashion for the duration of the summer.
Games are created, memories are made, lemonade stands make bank.
This is Minnesota summer.

 Family week at the cabin.  It's a staple every summer, and without it my life wouldn't be complete.

Boating.  Game time.  Movie nights.  Photo shoots.
Laughing until your sides ache and tears are falling.
This is Minnesota summer.

Lake Calhoun.  I am here almost daily.  If you come to Minneapolis in the summer, come here.

Take a walk.  Read a book.  Meet a friend.  Make a friend.  Dog watch.  People watch.  

Ride a bike.  Rent a paddle board.  Walk into Uptown.  Take a nap.  

This is Minnesota summer.