Summer Gold and Blue

Summer Sunday...Father's Day...steamy New York weather. Storms on the horizon, but blue patches and sunshine still smile down on us. The humidity wraps around me as I walk to the grocery store for one thing I forgot yesterday...red peppers. The warm close sensation feels good for a little while, but the air-conditioned store is refreshing. Tomorrow is the first day of summer.

A celebration of summer is traditional...gold is the color of the day. Sunflowers beckon from their container in the produce section. I don't resist. Sunflowers are just what I want to welcome summer to Glen Oaks. My relationship with this season would best be described as "it's complicated". A lot of unexpected stuff happens to me and people I love in the months of June, July and August. This makes me a bit wary of summer, but I do enjoy the enforced slow down for a while. This summer is no exception. There are health issues and high drama rears its regal head. We even christened a fire pit last night under the watchful 'eye' of a NYPD helicopter. This wild bunch was caught in the act of making s'mores...we shared.

While the fire was burning, I had a long conversation with a friend I haven't seen in many years. We caught up on family things, then talk turned to here and now...and tomorrow. Lately, I've realized that tomorrow has low priority for me. Here and now is what it's all about because it's all I'm sure of at any given moment. I mean, I think about the future, but I don't angst over it the way I used to because, on reflection, it's a waste of energy. My friend is in the process of making a major lifestyle change. That is scary and exciting. Only the person making the change can decide which one of those feelings is holding the high card. I don't give much advice on these matters. She will be the one to mind her own counsel.

We spoke of people we love, here and gone. Van Morrison, singing 'Brown Eyed Girl', backed up the conversation for a while. We smiled. We got it. Change is constant in life, but some other things remain constant, too. Love and friendship endure those changes. The only way you get that is by living life. Another friend arrived. She was totally frazzled trying to coordinate last minute details of her daughter's upcoming nuptials. We sipped white sangria and compared notes on parenting daughters. We sipped more sangria. Despite the frazzle factor, we counted our blessings.

As I surveyed the gathering around the fire pit, I realized this is the beginning of summer. We brought it in with the traditional crawfish boil and oh, so much more bounty. I assured my friends the best is yet to come. I truly believe that. Summertime blues not withstanding, what I see in my here in now is awesome. Peeking into the future looks pretty damn good, too. My body will get its tune-up soon and it will be all systems go. I'll be dancing in the firelight, enjoying now, knowing that very good things are on the horizon.

Oaxaca 2009