Welcome, Summer
Dragon Boat paddles near the Potomac River.
I count June 1 as the first “real” day of summer, even though the solstice doesn’t come until later and I was already sweating a couple of weeks ago.
June always enters rife with the glimmering possibilities of summer. I always imagine in the late weeks of April that by July I’ll have sunlit tea parties on the banks of the Potomac and frolic on cool verandas in fluffy party dresses while listening to jazz and drinking champagne under the full moon. Summer is Great Gatsby’s season, and it’s a humming black asphalt road that stretches out into the distance. Of course, none of this ever happens in real life, because you can’t really enjoy summer thoroughly when you are battling the District’s humidity and every day is a struggle just to come home dry, much less flouncing.
This year, we have plans to attend the DC Jazz Festival, Independence Day fireworks on the rooftop of our apartment overlooking the Pentagon, I’ll be running my first 5k this Saturday (gulp), and, hopefully, many nights filled with champagne, laughter, and friends without the need to go to posh Georgetown mansions.
To take my mind off of the gruesome discussion of the Israel incident this week, which has been growing crueler and crueler on both sides and has made me want to quit the Internet entirely, I’ve decided to post some of my favorite summer pictures from last year.
Hoping this summer will be equally fun. It’s already off to a great start.