Slow down!!!

Dear Summer,

Please slow down.  You are moving way too fast.  August 1st is the date that serves as a marker for the soon-to-be closing of summer.  Say it aint so; summer can't be coming to an end so soon.  This Florida girl longs for the days of high heat and heavy humidity, long days and short nights, the smells of food on the grill and the sticky dots left on picnic tables from watermelon and popcicles eaten way too fast.

We spent part of the weekend here: http://blockislandinfo.com/ViewPage.aspx?SectionID=67  with some great friends doing just what I described.  A day at the beach, food and drinks outside, hours of playing in the surf and sand, and ferry boat rides.  We also cheered on a 10 mile road race that a few of our dear friends were running in.  I know, you're thinking the same thing I was- why in the world would you run 10 miles on purpose in July???  They're determined gals. That's all.  And, they rocked it!!!

As part of our spectating duties, we (myself, Mike, and two of the husbands) made race posters for encouragement.  Somewhere in the thought/design process we got away from 'encouragement' and 'motivation' and made it to 'sarcastic' and 'funny.'  I think most of the runners appreciated the comic relief at mile 7 of 10, but a few clearly didn't and they were sure to let us know.  Here are the phrases from a few of our signs:

"Worst Parade Ever"- which was a big fan favorite. Runners even marched and played imaginary instruments to try to change our minds.
"If you can read this... your shoe's untied"- which didn't get too much play, but I thought it was funny.
"This is a yellow sign" written on yellow poster board.
"Almost There" + "That's what she said" as a poster combo... this was a hit. A bit off color; it was not my creation.
"John 3:16:  For God so loved the world that he gave us CARS."- this was meant to be funny, certainly not blasphemous. It went over well.

In all, it was a great race, a great beach day at Block Island, and a great summer weekend with friends.  And now I'm left with the reality that it's August 1st.  The summer in CT will soon come to a close.  That's what happens when your summer is only 3 months long.  Soon the long sunny nights will make way for cool temps and early sunsets.  I will be sad.  I long for the daylight, keeping the windows open until the last possible ray of sunlight before closing us in for the night.  I wait for 9 long months each year for the warmth and light of sweet summer.  And like that, it begins to fade away to make room for crunchy red and yellow leaves and the cold.  Did I mention I'm not a fan of the cold?

And, to Mike's eventual dismay, the onset of cooler weather means that the sweats come out, and stay out, for the duration.  Soon enough I'll be covered in fleece and fluffy, sweatpant cotton from head to toe.  As you can imagine, this does not go over well with a boy who likes a girl to dress up from time to time.  I can promise you that once the temps dip below 50, the dresses will be locked up until mid 2012. Sorry, Mike.

So on that note, I hope you enjoy every day in August.  Spend hours a day outside if you can, soak up the natural light and vitamin D, eat outside with your family and friends, walk, swim, swing.  Enjoy it.  This one is going to go quickly.

Yours in sweet summer time,
Whitney