Wonderful Wednesday #129
A sort of nearly summer acceptance and some lovely things from lately.
These past few weeks I have become a master at keeping the heat out. I’m always drawn to the mornings, even at the darker end of the year but lately I have treasured each one as if it were my last. Basked in the delicious cool breeze as it’s curled around my ankles letting the pup out a nudge after 6am. Enjoyed a distant bout of sunshine and cloudless sky that didn’t feel intense or too much but just enough on each early morning pup walk. Still stood and stirred my porridge at the hob only with the kitchen window cracked and a clatter of frozen summer berries replacing its usual honeyed top. Each morning before I leave for work I close all of the windows, roll down the blinds and try my best to keep out a sunlight and warmth I only ever encourage for the rest of the year.
By 3pm I’m good for nothing. That early morning energy fades so much faster lately and even if i’ve never been a night owl by any stretch; lately I struggle to make it through an afternoon without feeling as if I could curl up in a cool spot and have a sleep. Summer already feels as if it has been here for three years and not the maybe three week stretch of relentless sun that I have actually been trying to avoid.
But just like the howling winds, endless-feeling rain, icy blizzards or dark, dark days and less lovely bits of autumn and of winter there isn’t much we can do to escape. Balance is to see and to appreciate the bigger picture: The relentless warming of our world and all that it means for the future but, to also realise that being here is a bit of a gift and that time is precious and fast and life itself is not infinite or for wishing ourselves through, is it?
Lately I’ve made better friends of summer. Of this wild warm that I haven’t felt this relentlessly for along as I can remember and, the one that so many are rejoicing and revelling and being in. It’s a sort of summer acceptance if you will. A silent agreement to exist alongside each other—not bask not revel not love or even worry too much.
So I’m letting it— her in— in different ways. On my terms. Letting the light rest on my skin when it’s at its coolest, filling the fruit bowl with seasonal berries and cherries and wedges of watermelon dipped into greek yoghurt with mint. Eating lighter, breathing deeply and embracing the extra light and reading in it after supper each night as much as journalling and sipping still hot tea in it early mornings, too.
It makes finding the bright bits easier but, also acknowledging these wobbles and worries and un-alignment—i guess— with a season that so many other people seem to find so easy, a little better for me. Here are a few small and lovely joys from these last few days.
1 Even more seasonal eating. See above. I like to think I’m pretty good at this anyway but it’s not a myth or a puzzle that you really do feel much better if you eat long with the natural world and with the seasons set out infront of us. This week I have snacked on wedges of salty kiwi, chunks of watermelon with a squeeze of lime and enjoyed zesty salads, crumbled feta and olives stuffed into tortilla wraps.
2 Reading in daylight until it’s not anymore. Leaning into my body’s own gentle rhythms even more and bettering its’ connection with summer by reading until there isn’t enough light left to read anymore. That and making sure there’s some early morning sunshine on my skin. I really feel like this helps me sleep a little more deeply on these warm and restless nights.
3 Quiet. Early walks mean barely seeing a soul other than the birds and butterflies and last nights’ moon. A really lovely way to go gently into the day that I know might feel heavy and hot.
4 Cool showers, damp hair and a citrus candle. Cooling and calming and lovely each night.
5 Feeling a cool breeze after a long and hot day!
6 Noticing the changes in the landscape: Parched grasses, new flowers where there weren’t yesterday, the sun setting just a little bit earlier. For a moment I stopped doing that as much— got caught up in just getting through the day, making it to the end or the beginning of the next where I knew there’d be a cooler breeze. This helps so much. The world is always changing and we are always moving forward even if it feels like we are stuck. Look for the signs! They’re always there if we are open to finding them.
What small joys and nearly forgotten things are you the most grateful for? I’d so lovely to know. Are you appreciating this warm weather or are you also struggling to cope?!
Mate, loved this!!! I for one am embracing the cool parts of the day. Being a gardener and in it relentlessly has really made my body yearn for storm clouds. I can’t even explain how fatigued I have been. But those cool mornings and laying on the grass in the breeze of the evening have been magic. Frozen grapes with Tajin have been such a great snack!!