It’s been a long time since my schedule revolved around the arrival of summer. Now, it is my daughters who look forward to school being out; sleeping in, staying up later and no homework. In spite of my long separation from school, I still get excited for this time of year anyway. For what it’s worth, I still get excited to wake up in the morning to a covering of fresh snow on the ground too…as long as I don’t have to drive anywhere. That probably means I never fully grew up. I’m good with that.
Summer for me is a time to get outside and enjoy life: it is driving with the windows down and singing along with the radio at the top of my lungs; sitting outside and enjoying the night air; swimming, boating, diving and fishing; working in the yard and coaxing flowers to grow.As a writer, I have a bit more flexibility with my schedule than the typical job. I can write in the mornings and evenings and get outside and enjoy the day when the sun is up. The downside to that is I’m never fully off work either. It’s not unusual for me to be working on a project, especially when a deadline is looming, late in the evening.
On the other hand, I often find myself “writing” when I’m nowhere near my computer. I take inspiration from the places I go and people I meet. I often make notes in my phone to transfer to my computer later about people or things I want to research further. There is a great likelihood those things will show up later. My friends know all-too-well things they say or do can be used against them in an upcoming blog, short story or novel.
That’s what makes summer such a great time for me. Even in the hottest, stickiest dog days of summer, people want to be outside– typically at the pool or on the river or a lake somewhere. As a diver, I typically try to be under the water at least part of the time as well. I like scuba diving in West Virginia. This is where I learned to dive and I will always come back here. True, it isn’t as colorful as diving on a coral reef, but you might be surprised what you can find underwater around here. For me, that’s true of summer in West Virginia in general. If you get out and look, you just might be surprised at what you can find.