Doing summer
Yes; it is a slightly sarcastic title. 😉 We finally got around to ‘doing’ summer in a very traditional way this past weekend. By that I mean, we abandoned our usual chores, even gardening, (which it could be argued that gardening isn’t chores, rather mental health maintenance) and instead focused on summer activities.
Saturday we took our backpack beach chairs and towels to spend a few hours on our local beach. We read some, but mostly gazed in an unfocused way on the little waves lapping up on the beach, as the tide slowly rose. We watched the other visitors lay out their own territory with towels, windbreaks and folding chairs. We watched games of cricket and paddleball alongside construction and water diversion projects using buckets and spades. We saw watercraft of all sorts being inflated by various means and then launched with great fanfare and shrieks of delight.
We swam in the gloriously cool water. Well, Pete swam; I floated and blissed out. It was glorious.
Later that day we joined extended family for an impromptu dinner, comparing our days at various beaches on the island while we all relax into summer island life.
The next day we walked to our favourite beach cafe for breakfast. On the walk over we noted the full hotel car parks and new cafes that had opened since our last walk. We had a good natter with the cafe owner’s brother who owns the adjacent water sports centre. As good Brits, we discussed the brilliant weather we have been enjoying this summer in the south of England. Whilst the rest of Europe has been sweltering under severe heat, here on the South coast we have been having perfect dry, warm—but not hot—weather. Not so great for gardens and other vegetation, but lovely for summer holiday makers.
After our leisurely walk back home, and some pottering in the garden (not working!), we went for a bike ride. For me, this was the first time getting back on a bicycle in a couple of years. We took a silly amount of time the day before trying to figure out where my lock was, and then how it worked, also adjusting the brakes which got out of whack when we tried to put the bicycle in the car (another long story). At any rate, I was anxious to get comfortable riding the bicycle again which includes shifting gears, periodically activating the electric booster, ringing my cheerful warning bell, and most importantly, remembering always to stay to the left!).
Pete helped me with all of the above as we set out across our village, and down the hill to the esplanade, riding along the beachfront path to the next town where we can connect to the cross-Island bike path. After we wound our way to the bike path, I turned around to go back home whilst Pete rode on quite a bit further. But I was now comfortable cycling on my own and thoroughly enjoyed my cycle back along the seafront, up the hill and through the village to home. My legs were just a tad wobbly afterwards. But I had a big smile nonetheless.
After these two days of relaxed activity I remembered why there is all the fuss about holidays. Summer is about switching up the rhythm for awhile. We enjoy long days and abandon the routines we stick to during the other months of the year; the months when one is indoor focused, following patterns of work or school. But for a few weeks every year, it is worthwhile to ignore all those habits, and let the weather and desires lead you to pure hedonistic joy: feel the sun’s light on your skin, smell the salty air and let it call you, siren-like, to its shores.
Dip into the cool waters and let them soothe your warm skin and feel the coolness sink slowly into your muscles and tendons that now relax-relax-relax. Float awhile with nothing niggling to think about. Listen to the repeating whish-and-whosh of the waves gliding into the sandy beach, whilst the calls and banter of people fade away and only the sounds of the breeze and sea surround you.
Maybe this is when we find the answers to the questions we haven’t got around to asking ourselves yet. Or maybe this is the time hidden thoughts find their way to the surface, or when those new insights that have been percolating below find the space to bubble up. Or maybe just maybe, it is the quiet, the lack of thought, the breathing room—the actual breathing—we need most of all. For nothing in particular. For a little memory of joy to fleetingly pass through. For a slow smile to spread from deep inside to rest eventually on your upturned face.
At the end of the weekend, we remained outside for another couple of hours to read our books in the garden, watching the sky turn slowly from bright blue to darker blue, with pinky wisps of clouds floating above. The bees and butterflies flitted about in a leisurely way as the warm evening called to them to stay out a bit longer, too.
Now we are back to the ‘work’ week of sorts, but still relaxed from the pace of the weekend. The sun comes in and out of clouds, offering up a surprise quick shower now and again. Still, we have a warm holiday weekend tucked away just under the surface, staying present and dry for now. 😎
Thanks all for reading! I’d love to hear about your tricks for relaxing during your holidays. Where are the places that help you instantly find your happy, relaxed self? What do you like to do to relax? Let me know!
I’ll find you again in a couple of weeks!
xx Sabrina
Postscript:
I wanted a photo or a drawing of a bicycle to illustrate the section describing my fun time riding a bicycle again. I looked through my own photos and didn’t find anything quite fitting. Substack has a stock photo generator and an AI image generator. For fun, I tried the AI version first as I preferred a sketch and I could ask for that. This is what I got, using three different prompts:
I am particularly bemused by the lower right image above.
Note how in the selection of generic ‘bicycles’ above, they are all men’s bicycles.
Not satisfied with any of the above images, I went back to search the stock photo images. I asked for a bicycle. I got dozens of photos of men riding bicycles, with just a few women’s bicycles (without women) posed artfully next to fences or doorways but not any photos with women actually riding bicycles. I tried it again with another prompt and got a few more photos of women riding bicycles in a more diverse array of riding, attire and situations. I did the same with the AI image generator and again couldn’t get the image of a woman’s bicycle without a woman on it. Eventually I gave up with my original idea and asked the photo images for cycling on a beach, resulting in the one you see above. Harrumph.
Have any of you had better luck with generating the output you would like from any AI tools? I’m woefully unpracticed so have a lot to learn.
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Note: All photos are always author’s own, unless specified otherwise.
You are so good at evoking a sense of place and the feelings those places in turn evoke. This is one of my favourite things about your writing. When I read you, I always feel like I'm inside the scene ❤️
I've been trying, and mostly failing, to get into that delicious slow summer spontaneity, but you have inspired me to try harder!
About the images, my thought was also: who has legs that long?! C'mon!
A blissful weekend it sounds Sabrina! I’m catching up on your lovely account now as we were away in the forest cabin camping last week and had little to no access to the electronic world, a gift in and of itself….on top of many🌲 🌲 and evening campfires to settle our minds!
Thank you for sharing with all of us.