“Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape…”
― Harper Lee
Summer should be whimsy. Summer should be about these small things that stick with you forever, and feel like those endless lazy days, filled with what you love, surrounded by all the life and color that summer brings. Listening to the songs of crickets on hot nights, watching the fireflies perform their flickering dance in the twilight, the sweetness of a strawberry straight from the garden… these are summertime thoughts. I was watching the YouTuber Desi last night, and she talked about how we all have glimmers, which are small little things that make us happy, that give us joys, that glimmer in our soul. The sound of a storm rolling in with the distant thunder booming, picnics in the park with my family spread out on our blankets with books in the shade of the trees, butterflies flitting here and there in my yard, landing on the flowers I have planted for them. The scent of my lavender, the buzzing of the bees, watermelon, walking barefoot, taking Wyatt on his bike rides. Summer road trips and northern Michigan. Planting sunflower seeds and watching how tall they grow. Iced cold tea, that has been brewed by the sun.
I try to make sure that Wyatt has all these experiences that will become his glimmers. I try to expose him to the world, to nature, to different places and people and things and sights. I know some things that he loves, like seeing and hearing a blue jay call outside, riding his bike, drawing with sidewalk chalk, playing in his little play house while I garden around him, picking peaches, going to the library, spotting the moon, playing with his cousin Mermaid Girl around a backyard fire, swimming in his grandma’s pool.
One summer when I was a little kid, my mom and dad set up a giant tent one year in our yard. I loved taking my books and notebooks and pencils out there and just spending hours in there reading and writing and drawing, like my own little hideaway. I am actually going to have Billy put one up today in our yard, so that Wyatt and I can hang out in there reading and playing games and drawing, building new memories for Wyatt while I live out old ones.
I often wonder about what will stick with Wyatt as he grows older, become a core memory, those memories that are forever memories; will it be our moon parties we have with his cousin? Those nights around the fire? Watching our butterflies emerge from chrysalis and the tadpoles turn to frogs? Ice cream dinners or movie nights at home with popcorn his dad made?
Desi also made something I thought was sort of cool – a summertime mood board, filled with these glimmers. So I made mine. It is sort of neat and wild to think about how these small things that fill people up, these little shimmery glimmers, will be different for everyone. As soon as I post this, I am off to the other room where my husband is drinking his coffee and Wyatt is watching cartoons, to ask Billy what are his small things of summer that make him smile.
What about you? Any you want to share?
(And If you make a mood board and want to share, let me know! I am so curious and intrigued!)
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 
I love everything about this post! Wish I had done something similiar when my kids and grandkids were little.
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Aw thank you Vicki! It might be a fun discussion to have with them now – see what little things they love. 🙂
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Oh, my gosh, Erin! This post took me right back to my childhood. I loved listening to the frogs at night, watching stars from on top of the picnic table, listening to the rain fall through the gutter (it was right outside my window). I especially love the smell a tent has after it’s been up for a bit, and it’s hot. That’s one of my glimmers…not that you’d catch me sleeping in one nowadays!
I hope I’ve left glimmers with my kids and grands. I’m sure Wyatt has so many you don’t even know about. You have given him the world through experiences, songs, books, and art. He’ll remember things you’ve long forgotten. Perhaps, you could start him journaling a little bit, not only to remember the glimmers, but to reinforce them…just a thought.
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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And you just got that sound of the rain again last night, I hope! A little glimmer for you! These are such lovely little things.
I am positive you have! And thank you Marsha.
That is a great idea! I think we will 100% do that!
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Neat mood board! I’m full of admiration at your hard work at raising your child. Congratulations on all you do
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Aww thank you so much!! That is so nice of you to say! He is such an experiential learner that I try to make that happen as much as I can. 🙂
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I like the idea of a summertime mood board — and also that as a kid you caped out in the yard and all. Those are unforgettable experiences.
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The tent sounds like such fun! And I love that summer mood board. Here July and August are usually spent mostly indoors because the temperature and bug situation really get out of control and it’s just too hot. My very favorite thing right now is blackberry lemonade that a local grocery store has. It reminds me of picking blackberries at my grandparents’ farm (only first thing in the morning or right at sunset because you have to wear heavy gloves and after a few close calls with heat stroke you learn lessons!) and it’s just good!
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What a great memory – and I love that you have found something that takes you back to those moments. I love sense memories like that. 🙂
Wyatt and I are not great heat people, we would probably die if we were in the south in the summer. Lol. It hit 90 yesterday and I was like, let’s stay in the air conditioning. I can’t even imagine temps that stay higher than that all summer!
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The month of July and august mostly spent in indoor because the temperature and weather is to hot. I like the idea of summertime mood board.
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