Nostalgic Summer: The One We Didn't Know We Needed
It's finally here!
Can you feel the warmth in the air, the humidity? Have you noticed how early the sunrises and how late into the evening the light hangs around before it follows the sun below the horizon? Have you noticed the increased out-of-state traffic and how everyone is outdoors (when it's not raining)? Have you been to the beach yet? Had an Aperol spritz, or your first lobster roll of the summer?
Summer is such a special time of year, partly because it's so short here in Maine. Ninety days (give or take) if we're being honest. Winter seems to get a little longer every year and I don't know about you, but it makes me long for the summer months even more.
Maybe it's because by the time June rolls around, I'm so low on Vitamin D that I'm desperate to sit on my deck with a good book and soak up every ounce of sunshine. Or maybe it's because there's a part of me that dreams of all the things that have made the best summers. The way of life that brings all of our senses to attention and somehow creates the nostalgia that stays with us year after year. Or maybe it's because sometimes we need the reminder to put down the to-do list, and what better reminder than summer.
We need the slower evenings, the beach days, and the fireflies. We need permission to stop checking the list for a minute and to just be, because the best parts of summer aren't just the big things we plan, they're the little things we almost miss.
The blue hydrangeas, salty beach hair, pink noses from forgetting to reapply sunscreen, fireworks on the Fourth of July, endless amounts of watermelon, strawberry picking, frosty popsicles, sandy car floors, long beautiful days at the beach, chasing the ice cream truck down the road and the music sticking in your head hours later, red and white checked tablecloths, towels left by the pool, hot dogs (especially red snappers!). It's all part of the way summer feels, and looks, and smells.
One of my favorite summers was spent with friends at the pool, photographing cannonballs, red Solo cups, brightly colored bathing suits, and all of the moments that happened in between. Another was the annual staycation we used to take at Old Orchard Beach, where I photographed my son and my nieces chasing waves and riding them back to shore. Sandy feet and naps in beach chairs. I remember waking up and walking down to the beach, coffee in hand, and finding my brother swimming laps in the ocean to get ready for the upcoming Iron Man. I remember (and miss) shopping for cheesy souvenirs and standing in line for the required pier fries that we only got once a year.
These are the memories that I find myself hanging onto summer after summer.
But what if the details aren't the things we're nostalgic for at all. Maybe they're simply the evidence of a summer well lived. Proof that, for a little while, life slowed down just enough for us to notice it.
What if it's the time spent with our people, the conversations, the laughter, and most of all, the connection that is the foundation of a nostalgic summer. And the blue hydrangeas, the lobster rolls, and the sound of the waves crashing at the beach are simply the memories our senses carry forward year after year?
I'm grateful that I have the photographs to go along with those memories. I think that's why summer, although short, is my favorite season and why my camera is never far from me. These are the days that I find myself wanting to remember the most.
Wishing you the nostalgic summer we all need.
Kristy