The Case for Summer

June is finally here and it is officially summer in the northern hemisphere. I am over here rejoicing in my most favorite season. Spring spent a few years in that top position because it meant the end of winter. But now (and forever more) summer reigns supreme. Here’s why:

• Sunshine: I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past two and half years, a place famous for its rainy weather. However, it is not the rain that bothers me. What really reaches into the soul and brings me down to the depths of hell is a PNW winter, where direct sunlight disappears for months at a time, what feels like endless overcast skies. Summer means the return of sunshine, even in the rainy, dark PNW.

• Warmth: give me sweat over shivers any day. The heat gives me extra energy to move and exercise. Besides, summer is the only time my hands and toes thaw out from their icy norm.

• Summer clothes: summer clothing is better than all other clothing. Fight me about it. Tank tops and shorts and sandals all the way. The more skin exposed for the sun to kiss the better. Throw on some sunglasses and let’s get outside.

• Swimming: open water swims are some of my most favorite activities. I adore the vastness I feel suspended in a deep column of water. I love swimming from shoreline to shoreline. The way my lungs feel so powerful and strong after swimming is unmatched by any other sport I have found.

• Summer reading: winter reading is a close second, but summer reading wins out because it often takes place on a beach or in a lawn chair or a picnic blanket in a grassy field. Winter reading is great because its cozy and often curled up by a fire. But, summer reading is versatile - it is reading that gets thrown into a knapsack and carried with you everywhere.

Who else is excited to get outside this summer? What is your favorite season and why? What is on your summer reading list? Let me know if the comments below.