My Love Affair With Summer -- Jen Doktorski

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Summer is my soul mate. If summer were a person, I would marry it. I love everything about those glorious weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The fireflies that light up my yard. The smell of honeysuckle, freshly cut grass, pool chlorine, and the ocean. Outside showers after a day at the beach. Suntanned feet. Ice pops and amusement park rides. Nights too hot for sleeping. Singing crickets and cicadas. Laughing seagulls. Kids shouting “Marco” and “Polo” at the town pool.

So if I love summer so much, how did I end up in New Jersey instead of a warmer locale? Someplace like San Diego or Naples, Florida, where it’s summer-like all year round? Because that’s just it. It’s only “like” summer all year round. Summer is more than weather, it’s a state of mind. A Brigadoon-like existence that only lasts about nine weeks each year.

Here’s a glimpse of what I’m lovin’ about summer thus far.

                                                                    Concerts.

 

Kite Night.

 

 

The new Ferris Wheel on the ride pier.

 

 

The view from the top.

 

 

Egrets fishing at dusk.

 

 

Sunsets.