Summer in the Harbor

Summer, we’ve waited for it all year – the magical time between the first song of the peepers and the honking of geese flying south. The time of t-shirts, and bare-feet, the morning chorus, and strawberries - the simple beauty of this heavenly tilt toward the sun. And as we throw open the sash to let the summer breezes through, this freedom of spirit is quickly encumbered by an influx of visitors and movie stars, day trippers and summer renters, beach goers, boaters, and night-life connoisseurs. The small horse and buggy lanes reach grid lock and parking is at a premium. It has come to be a time when this mile-square village seems filled beyond capacity. If we do indeed say that every year, this year it has come to fruition. The hustle and bustle of summer helps our local businesses endure – it offers a variety of employment options, it ignites the vibrance of life in many-and for others it encourages a deep dive into a rabbit hole.

It's not that we don’t want to share- it is with the utmost gratitude that we have been able to stay and become the residents, the ‘lifers’, the natives, the locals – and why should anyone lay claim to any corner of the world. It is all of ours to share and experience. Yet, not unlike those who have flown south-who leave behind the cold and the gray of winter but end up staying indoors in the air-conditioning through the hot summer months- many of us take to the quiet solitude of home. It is not so much the temperature that keeps some of us cloistered - it is the crowds, the parking unavailability, the lines, and the lack of restaurant reservations. Some of us withdraw and lean into grocery delivery, backyard gardens and summer reading.

Home becomes a refuge and a retreat- it holds the magic of fireflies and hummingbirds, starlit nights and mini-series. There’s always ice tea in the fridge and a clean bathroom that you don’t need to wait in line for.

There is a shift that has taken place – for some who have always loved summer-they begin to prefer spring and fall- and for those who have always steered away from the cold and gray-they begin to find comfort in the spaciousness of winter. It becomes a time to reclaim the parking places and a table at your favorite restaurant- or perhaps the opportunity to try a new one. It becomes the time to show up at the post office at noon and grab a stool at The Corner for an undefined, open ended happy hour.

I have had an endless interest and curiosity in what your favorite season is and why. I think this simple response tells a lot about a person- and it also helps to affirm my own choice and preferences. Do extroverts generally like spring and summer and introverts fall and winter? Are you a thinker or a doer? What leads you to your specific choice? And are there external factors at work that have changed your mind? Or are you one who finds joy in nature’s variety pack?

My favorite season is fall- the cooler colorful days, fresh air, the turning inward, turtlenecks and sweater weather, the quiet. Yet, my favorite weather system is a blizzard – changing the landscape with a burst of extreme enthusiasm from Mother Nature.

Some acquire their energy from the throng of summer-others from the quiet of winter-some the new life of spring-others the turning inward of fall. We are afforded these choices by a world of great beauty and abundant miracles- some that we notice and some that sit at the bottom of our day-to-day handbags.

As we feel deadlocked in the challenges of summer it helps to remember all that lies ahead- the relief, the wonder and the beauty of the circle of the seasons.