Is January getting to you? Not just the literal January but the figurative one? The cold, the letdown after the holidays, the tedious rhythm to the days. If so, take a moment today to think about summer and what you love about it (assuming you do). Is what you love about summer something that can be translated into the winter? Perhaps summer is there in you after all and the cold of winter made you forget it. Take today to draw it back out, to find it again within you. Maybe your January hasn't arrived yet, keep in mind when it does that you hold summer within you - your soul remembers summer and will hold it for you.  How can you celebrate summer - in the midst of this winter day?  How do you recall summer in your soul when winter is chilling it? 

It probably doesn't surprise you that I'm glad for the longer summer days because of the light...for reading. But here we are - in January. So I make the best of it. And I hang on for the light of summer. I'm not a fan of the longer days just for more reading time, I really love the light of summer evenings. The softening of the colors in the sky, the sounds of the birds still singing their songs, the breezes finally cooled off from the heat of the day. Something about summer twilight always feels softer to me than any other season's twilight. Same with summer mornings. I adore summer mornings for the same reasons. I could do without the actual daytime of summer but the bookends of each day certainly do something in my soul. And today, as it gets dark at 5/6 pm and the morning has dawned crisp and hard, I am conjuring up the light of summer for a moment of soul respite. 

A few years ago the hub and I got a chance to go to Orlando, Florida in January. It's a gamble to go that time of year. It could be overcast and rainy or it could be sunny and warm. We won the toss up, so to speak, and ended up with the most beautiful weather. It was bliss. The temperature was just right for poolside lounging and jacket free evenings. It was the loveliest respite in the midst of a traditionally dreary month. I couldn't believe that in the middle of January I was sitting poolside - it felt luxurious. And it was then that I figured out why many people I know make like a bird and fly south in January or February for a long weekend. They are following the advice of Thoreau and maintaining just a bit of summer in the middle of the winter. Those few days of summer in the middle of winter soak into the soul and provide an endurance one needs to make it through the rest of winter.  Maybe you can't make like a bird and fly south for a long weekend, what...

"Who cares if it's raining or cold. Wear your flip flops and have some fun!" (unknown) Sometimes you just have to defy the reality of the moment and make your own. For example, is it snowing or sleeting or cold raining wherever you are at today? Well who cares! Bring some summer into your day. Maybe you have access to an indoor pool, or a sauna - go make some summer for yourself and your family. Or maybe you can just make summer in your home - lay out beach towels, have everyone change into swimsuits and flip flops and have some icy treats. Maybe watch a movie that features summer weather. What about getting a pedi and using a bright summer color on your toes to be a reminder that summer is right there with you - as long as you keep it near. The whole point is that seasons come and go but it's our choice to keep them with us no matter what.