SUMMER SOLSTICE → LOVING IT ALL!

June 21, 2016, 11:41 PM, Crowden Park, Fairbanks, Alaska

The longest day is tomorrow.  Five years ago to the day we were in Fairbanks, Alaska for the longest day.  Our most memorable summer solstice ever. Well, to be honest, many years the day passes without our notice.  I wish now that when we lived in England we had paid more attention; the summer evenings are so leisurely that far north. You can enjoy the theatre and if you live in central London, walk home in daylight.  One year we were in Norway, days even longer, taking pictures on a midnight hike of sheep grazing, then falling into a brief sleep as day turned to dusk then to day again.  No night at all.

In Fairbanks we went to the traditional minor league baseball game that begins at 10 pm, no lights needed.  When it ended we realized we had no way back to our cabin; the shuttle stops on its own schedule. Two women offered us a ride in their hatchback; grateful, we accepted.  One problem: we had to ride in the dog kennel, which took up the only available space.  Bent over we crawled in and smelled like dog by the end of the ride. Somehow this is a wonderful memory.

Atlantic Beach, North Carolina

This year we are at the beach doing pretty much nothing.  Not enough to create a lasting memory but nowhere else I'd rather be.  Biking, blogging, shelling, collage-making, cooking, walking Mr. Wiggles . . . all with a view. It's a vacation. 

I've also been thinking about ways to enjoy the rest of the summer, when the heat gets over-whelming, as it does in North Carolina: sand hot enough to blister, asphalt on fire, humidity soaking even the flimsiest tops, instant melt.  A sort of Heat Hacks of the day list, more tried-and-true than new: 

Come in from the heat; enjoy the air-conditioning.  Or if you've been avoiding all fresh air, do something outside and then come in and enjoy the air-conditioning.  The contrast feels great.

Sit, lie, twirl under a fan; children love fans.  Did you ever sit in front of a fan as a kid?  I did.  With my body itching from poison ivy, my mother would douse me in Calamine and plop me just inches from our floor fan.

If you can, watch a movie only you want to see.  On a weekend this is luxurious; on a weekday pure decadence.

Play a board game, or cards, with the children.  The only exertion is laughter.

Spread lotion on your parched skin; do the same for a child.

Pour something alcohol-free over ice, add lemon, and drink it down; make a glass for someone else.

Pile your hair up.

Keep your shoes off, wear a cami and something loose, anything .

Put out some nectar. Admire a hummingbird.  Be glad we don't have to move that fast.

Give the plants a drink.  If you're watering outdoors, soak your feet too.  Or legs, or whole self. 

Stretch every which way, high, to the right, to the left, arms, neck, torso, hamstrings . . . .

Cool off the dog with a nice bath, even if he's not in the mood.  Talk to him lovingly.  These aren't called dog days for nothing. 

Read, of course read, and write.

And the most obvious: wild swim, pool swim, hose-down, any wet choice at all.  And if skinny-dipping is an option . . . well there you go.

On the longest day, especially if you too have some time off, who knows how many or few ways you might decide to spend your daylight.