Summer Days

fireworks

Best Days of Summer

Walking through the woods the other day I noticed the layered canopy of green in the trees and at the same moment my son said, “These trees are cute!” The trees smiled at us and we smiled back.

Summer finally showed up to the party and the warmth of the sun opens my eyes to a newfound clarity to devote well needed time for rejuvenation and reconnection to the sacredness around me.

When you’re out and about mingling with the business of the world, acknowledge the beauty in nature wherever you see it, the beauty in people and the beauty in yourself. Give yourself time to rest and to admire the surroundings, the sounds, the aromas, and the sensations of summer. Give yourself permission to bask in the warmth of summer and to nourish yourself in its bounty.

Yesterday I took Ben to the beach for our first trip of the season and I knew from the start it would take a toll physically on my prenatal body. The one-mile walk to the beach was easy as we were both excited to be outside and see our friends, feel the ocean breeze, dance in the sand, and immerse ourselves in the water. There were many moments of Ben running away from me as fast as quickly as possible. The most poignant moment was when he bolted into the water and ran to these two women playing volleyball. Ben wanted to play with these, may I say drop dead gorgeous women. I allowed him to play and flirt for a couple of minutes before asking, why don’t we get your ball? We walked back to our chairs, grabbed the ball, and ran back to the water, but he didn’t want to play catch with me, his mommy, the woman who birthed him. He would much rather throw the ball away from me, and then watch me run get it for him. Was I not fun? What was the problem? I was getting annoyed and hurt.

After a minute of being annoyed because my son would not listen to me, I just decided I could make this a bad beach day or a good beach day. I sat down in the water and just allowed my son to throw the ball where he wanted, to play with other kids that he was interested in, and enjoy watching him be his fun social self. By the end of the day he was ready to leave the beach without any drama. I asked him did he have fun? He answered, Yeah! I wuv vu mama. My heart melted.