Romancing Summer
SUNDAY LETTER 06: the practice of slowing down enough to savor summer before it's gone. + summer film recs
SUNDAY LETTER 006
“It’s June after all & we’re young until September.” - Ocean Vuong, Night Sky With Exit Wounds.
“I need to go on more vacations,” he says, with determination in each syllable. “It’s about to be July! How in the world did that happen? I feel like any minute, summer is just going to be over.”
I agree with him, wondering how to stop time.
“It can’t be done,” the skeptical voice in my mind says, and I fear it might speak true.
In the morning, I slip off my sandals and let my feet sink into the grass. It’s another grounding practice I’ve picked up as a means of reducing my anxiety. I walk in aimless little circles as slow as my feet will allow. The sun warms my shoulders and I hope it will work its magic and melt away the stored tension that sits there.
I may not be able to manipulate time, bending it just so during these summer days, but I can slow myself down.
I am reminded of a quote by Kait Rokowski:
“Nothing ever ends poetically. It ends and we turn it into poetry. All that blood was never once beautiful. It was always just red.”
In the practice of slowing myself down, I keep this in mind, questioning its validity. In moments when I am walking barefoot in the sun, I can feel the poetic nature of a moment.
What is magic if not feeling dreadful and letting nature and a bit of deep breathing remedy it?
One of the goals of this summer is to not wait until its end to look back and find its beauty. To slow down enough to see it when it happens.
MY STARTER PACK FOR SLOWING DOWN THIS SUMMER:
1. As the heat wave continues, I find myself struggling to go out as much as I’d like. One way I’ve found to combat this is to soak up my early morning walks with my dog, Louie, as much as possible. I’ve been listening to the audiobooks of the Anne of Green Gables series, and it’s just a positive and calming way to start my day.
2. With a lot of my friend’s schedules being packed full of both work and vacations this summer, I’ve grown to look forward to my weekly phone conversations with my fellow friend who is just as obsessed with Game of Thrones as me. In a time when it can feel like socializing has taken a hit, this is one example of how I’ve been able to still feel connected to those I love.
3. A true foodie, I look forward to seasonal defining recipes. For me, summer dinners are all about the pastas, and nothing helps me slow down more than cooking an elaborate meal.
4. Taking some time to be off of my phone. At the end of July, I plan to disconnect from all my social media apps and limit my phone time by a lot. Until then, I have been mindful to decrease my phone usage and make sure I am embracing the world around me instead of getting sucked into the couch, scrolling.
5. As I said above, I’ve really gotten into grounding practices in nature. The key to this practice is all about tapping into the five senses. I move slowly, breath slowly and just let my surrounding wash over me. Open fields and my local splash park are two of my go-to spots when I just need to still my nerves. Bare feet are a must!
6. And finally, taking some time to write some poetry. This summer, my poetic juices aren’t flowing as well as they have in the past. Still, I don’t want that to stop me from taking a half hour to sit and jot down some ideas and proses. If nothing else comes from it, the practice is an excellent way to see where my mind and emotions are at.
How do you slow down in summer?
A heat wave has taken my city, and I find myself complaining about it constantly. On days when it is too hot to go outside, I turn to films. Here are my summer film recommendations to escape the heat:
The Seven Year Itch (1955): “In the midst of a summer heat wave, New Yorker Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) ships his wife, Helen (Evelyn Keyes), and their son off to Maine for vacation. Left alone to work back in Manhattan, Richard encounters a gorgeous blonde model (Marilyn Monroe) who has moved into the apartment upstairs, and becomes immediately infatuated. While pondering infidelity, Richard dreams of his beautiful new neighbor -- but will his fantasies about her become a reality?”
Y Tu Mamá También (2001): “The lives of Julio and Tenoch, like those of 17-year old boys everywhere, are ruled by raging hormones, intense friendships, and a headlong rush into adulthood. Over the course of a summer, the two best friends, while living out a carefree cross-country escapade with a gorgeous older woman, also find connection with each other, themselves and the world around them.”
A Room With a View (1985): “In this British drama based on the novel by E.M. Forster, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter), a young Englishwoman, is touring Italy with her older cousin (Maggie Smith). At a hotel in Florence, Lucy meets the charming and free-spirited George Emerson (Julian Sands). Although intrigued by George, once she's back in England Lucy ponders settling down with the wealthy, staid Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis). When George reappears in her life, Lucy must decide between him and Cecil.”
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999): “To be young and carefree amid the blue waters and idyllic landscape of sun-drenched Italy in the late 1950s; that's la dolce vita Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) craves- and Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) leads. When Dickie's father asks Tom to bring his errant playboy son back home to America, Dickie and his beautiful expatriate girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), never suspect the dangerous extremes to which Ripley will go to make their lifestyle his own.”
Rear Window (1954): “The story of a recuperating news photographer who believes he has witnessed a murder. Confined to a wheelchair after an accident, he spends his time watching the occupants of neighbouring apartments through a telephoto lens and binoculars and becomes convinced that a murder has taken place.)
Midsommar (2019): “A couple travel to Sweden to visit their friend's rural hometown for its fabled midsummer festival, but what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.”
What are your summer go-to films?
In case you missed it…
After a much-needed break from this blog, I jumped back into my recurring column, Happily Ever, with a look at Hansel and Gretel and the struggle of letting go of children going off to college and entering their teenage years.