Today was a beautiful, sunny summer Sunday. It is August 8th, and as we all know, we're just around that time where we start to feel a bit desperate about this whole "summer" business; desperate that our summer isn't over yet and yet soon will be, that the days are getting shorter again already but, sadly, the amount of time we've spent in the sun is paltry in consideration of how drastically the sunlight to starlight ratio in summer beats the pulp out of that of winter. And in our frantic-ness to make the most of this summer, we are caught in a still-looping pattern that is a self-fulfilling prophecy time-bomb just waiting to happen: reckless summer-ing compounded by guilt-activated perfection pressuring.
Let me try to explain. We've been waiting for those perfect summer moments to happen to make the most of our summer, but by waiting, not only have we "ruined" the months that have already passed, we are also putting an unrealistic burden on the months we have left and will likely ruin them too: no redemption here! We feel the need to enjoy summer RIGHT NOW and not let it slip away ("I need control of this situation!"), but we still need to happen into just the right combination of circumstances, or be party to a most serendipitous chain of actions that will lead us to the perfect summer experiences, in order for that to happen ("I will leave control of this situation up to the Fates of Summer!"). We're waiting for the right thing to happen in order to enable us to do the right thing. We have not made the most of our summer and so are trying to figure out how to get rid of our guilt for those 40+ hours a week we just had to put in at the office for May, June and July and at the same time fully enjoy August like we didn't with those other months, optimizing what's left not just for what it is, but for what the rest of the summer wasn't- a double whammy, double the pressure, and only a quarter of the time. August is our chance to capture Summer in a tin cookie box and keep it from changing into the cool days and dying plant matter carpet of fall.
So, knowing this to be our current situation, and it being very much reality for me if not for "us," "we," or "our," how then did I spend this absolutely gorgeous, commitment free, high in Vitamin-D, increasingly becoming a rare item, Sunday afternoon of summer? WATCHING A SCREEN. In a basement. With the curtains closed. In my defense against myself, I, the defendant, would like to present the following pieces of evidence for my consideration:
A) it was a family activity with my roommates and co ("co" being the fiance of one of these roommates, who himself is practically a roommate with all the time that he spends here), and we haven't had that many of those; part of making the most of this summer is investing time into my roommates, as the end of the summer will bring the end of our roommateness as well.
B)did I mention that it was a lovely summer day? Well that means is was a HOT day... and at 2 in the afternoon, sitting in the coolest place one can find (ie basement lounge with the curtains closed) really does have an appeal to it, and can be quite valid as a summer activity.
C) I really didn't realize that the movie was going to actually be 4 hours long.
Ok, my guilt for wasting the day now being somewhat relieved, I'm now working ahead on the case I will make for how I spent the rest of this absolutely fantastic summer NIGHT: sleeping.
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