On a Summer's Day

All summer long—all spring even—I’ve been harboring a little dream. My dream included a few simple things: a friend, a blanket on the grass under a tree, and a warm summer’s day. It’s a simple recipe, actually, but harder to concoct than you might think. If you can get it right, it’s a little bit of alchemy.

First you need to find the time—this is often easier than it sounds. As much as my life in Seattle is calmer and slower than my life in San Francisco (something I am profoundly grateful for), it can still be hard to find a free afternoon. Add in a friend’s busy schedule and things get even more complicated. The afternoon in question I actually had a number of things I should have been doing, but the day was sunny, the sky was blue, and what was I going to remember more—an afternoon spent at the computer or an afternoon spent on the grass with a friend? I chose the later.

The grass in question is my friend’s backyard, and such a backyard one does not often see. Large, with leafy green trees—a treehouse even. There are flowers and vegetables too. There are birdhouses, even a clothes line. It’s the sort of backyards that people used to have, when houses were smaller and gardens were larger and you planted trees to provide you with both fruit and shade. In the autumn her lawn is studded with apples, but not yet. Now it is just grass, lovely, inviting grass.



It’s the sort of grass that makes you want to kick your shoes off.



And so you spread out your blanket, and maybe you bring some food (in our case it was Ethiopian takeout, from our favorite place in town). And if you are me, you do something that delights you to no end—you lie on the blanket and stick your feet off the end so that you can wiggle your toes in the grass.

(Alternate versions of this manuever include the sand wiggle, done at the beach, and the more challenging to pull off but oh so delightful water wiggle, which can only be accomplished alongside a lake or slow-moving river.)

And you lie there and talk and laugh with your friend, and you watch the clouds slowly blow by, and you listen to the birds and feel the slanting late afternoon sun as it moves across the grass, and it doesn’t matter about the work and the worries that may sit at home on your desk. These are the moments you cherish, the ones that will linger. This is what you have been waiting for.

And your friend—who is quite a genius—surprises you with rootbeer floats. Rootbeer floats! Creamy vanilla ice cream in a cup, with cold rootbeer poured over it. You feel like a kid again, let out for summer vacation.

And you’re happy.



This is what I wish for you this summer. That you might find a free afternoon in the midst of your busy life and a small patch of grass—be it a backyard, a park, or a friend’s garden. I hope that you can lay out your blanket, listen to the sound the wind makes as it ruffles the leaves of the trees, and watch a few lacy clouds slowly float across a blue sky. And I wish that you might be happy.

Rootbeer floats entirely optional but heartily recommended.

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." —J. Lubbock



And if an afternoon on the grass doesn’t make you happy, just look at this sweet house. I mean really, have you ever seen something so cheerful?

Happy summer, friends. I hope it is a good one for you.