The summer weather in Berlin has been kind of a bummer. It’s been overcast and rainy for multiple weeks. For a country that has a prolonged winter and minimal sunshine for more than half of the year, we (the people) depend on the sunshine to come through from June-mid September. I’ve experienced a sort of whiplash from the boiling hot days to the chilly wet days with no real in-between. This past weekend was the perfect summer weather, in my opinion. Sunny and round about 80 degrees with the sun still high in the sky until 9:30pm.
I was thinking about incorporating play and spontaneity back into summer. For me, this season always represents a break from school, taking vacations and seeing my friends. I loved the summers as a kid. I would go to the pool, ride my bike, watch movies, play outside, eat ice cream, blast through my summer reading list, visit my grandparents, etc. I was left alone during the day as a kid and found ways to keep myself occupied. Sometimes I’d have obligations like dance practice or a summer camp of some kind but mostly, the days were mine. I operated like an adult as a kid/teenager with my little routine. I’d wake up, feed my cat, make my breakfast, watch a little TV and set out for the day. Once I got older, I’d go to my job at the water park or babysitting. When I had my license, it unlocked the world for me. That’s when the summers got really interesting.
I feel like I lost that feeling as an adult as you do. I stopped treating summers like a break and kept operating business as usual. I didn’t account for a longer vacation or do fun things after work. This weekend, it felt like summer days when I was 16 years old. I rode my bike, bought fresh cherries and ate them outside. I went to the park with my book. I took Russ on long walks. I laid on top of my bed with the windows open and watched a show on my projector. I went to a yoga class and got an iced cappuccino. I wrote a few poems!!
I want to bottle up the feeling of having a responsibility free summer.