Summer Time Blues?

My father has a fabulous phrase that he used to say when my brother and I would follow him around the house, claiming that there was nothing to do. He would stop what he was doing, look us in the eye, and inform us that " you are bored because you are BORING." Which meant no trip to Blockbuster, no ice cream, and, ultimately, the development of a proverb that is still with me today. Particularly in this third week of summer. The trip home has been taken care of, the first thrill of sleeping in has worn off, and, suddenly, the day  stretched in front of you looks less like freedom and more like a chore. ANOTHER twelve hours in which you must amuse yourself. So what's the deal? The friends I talk to are bored, I'm bored, everyone on Facebook is bored: are we all really just that boring? I remember running around outside for hours every summer, finding inspiration in  a stream  or an open field or an unclimbed tree. I mean, obviously we can't play tag at the playground anymore ( or maybe we can ), but does that mean that summer is now only a time of work and the doldrums? Seriously, I begged my boss for more hours. My seven year old self would be SO ashamed.

Maybe we're just sapped of our energy. Spring semester is over,  Lord know THAT was an ordeal, and there are still  jobs and boyfriends and girlfriends and friends and drama and parents and money money money problems and cars ( always a problem) and roommates and your future career and becoming the person you want to be and dishes and and and....It can get overwhelming. Maybe we're bored because we are boring--we've turned into old people with too much responsibility. 

So my goal this summer is to find my child again. Pay the bills, of course, but then remember that fresh feeling of liberation, the exhilaration that came when you woke up and you knew there was nothing but the hot day and a popsicle. Do things because they are fun, not because they serve a purpose. If you're in the same boat, I'm going to be putting up something every day to make you feel fun again. So let's embrace the humidity ( well, rain as it's been all week), throw on a pair of cutoffs and find a swing set and a good friend. I'm not going to be caught being boring. ; ) 

mwah,

moi