Ah, Memorial Day Weekend. The unofficial start of summer. And this year, it's the unofficial start of a summer that you're especially excited about because we've been afforded at least some degree of — dare I expose you to this word for the 1,057,276,382nd time? — normalcy as the pandemic appears to be subsiding. And we all know how fun normal was!
So this should be that much more special a weekend for you, because you have before you a holiday and a summer whose possibilities go far beyond Zoom gatherings and "Tiger King." Just think:
◼️ For those of you who still wait until Memorial Day Weekend to give you permission to wear white, 'tis the weekend you've dug around in your closet for something to wear and found that all the white garments from two years ago that you didn't get to wear last year have yellowed to the point where you can only hope someone throws an all Yellow/Gold Attire Party.
◼️ To the mature bunch, it begins a season during which you'll get excited about going to outside parties, parks, festivals, baseball games, shopping events and the like ... only to come back home from said events after only an hour or two because of faltering energy, back and other body aches, hot flashes, lingering covid concerns or the realization that wait, you really don't like people.
◼️ This marks the weekend some pools officially open, and you're realizing that, dang, your swimwear has shrunk.
◼️ If you don't have direct access to a pool, it's time to resume fuming about all the people you know who have a pool but never invite you over for a swim.
◼️ It's the weekend that, despite having run back and forth to the store for the past several days, you've realized you still forgot something for the cookout — and you just know the store crowds have grown to Cecil B. DeMille epic size. Worse yet, you realize that what you need is at ... Walmart.
◼️ Or, you don't feel like cooking, so you're scrolling social media, seeing what friends you might hit up for a plate on Monday.
◼️ Speaking of Memorial Day Weekend gatherings, this also marks the official season of "Hold my beer and watch this!" antics. Be sure to update those first-aid kits.
◼️ In addition, this weekend is the kick-start of your realization that, sigh, you didn't miss trying to eat outside and being tormented by flies.
◼️ Hiking! Biking! Fishing trips! Time to go forth ... then realize you forgot the sunscreen and the bug spray.
◼️ Although many of you have gotten the jump on this one, this particular Memorial Day Weekend marks the "back to the beach vacation" season. So, replace those shrunken swimsuits and practice that group "simultaneous beach jump" photo.
◼️ Time to go back to envying the folk who have posted their vacation pics ... or to mutter to yourself, "Ha. Just wait. They'll soon see what a good time I'll be having in a couple of weeks/months."
◼️ If you haven't already hit up the nurseries and other plant retailers, then good golly, inaugurate your summer by heading to the places that are open this weekend. There are plants depending on you to kill them. (I've already murdered my second potted azalea in as many years.)
◼️ And if you haven't yet been to the farmers market, this is the weekend to go and complain that things aren't any cheaper than they are at the grocery store. (Or, if you're like Yours Truly ... time to go to the farmers market and, thanks to all those ancillary vendors afoot, come back with a new evening-wear blouse instead. In black, no less, the very color that already dominates about 85% of your wardrobe.)
◼️ Water bug season. Yeah.
◼️ It's definitely the start of the season for reminiscing about the fruit cobblers Mom/Grandma used to make, especially since you lack the skills and/or desire to make one yourself.
◼️ And let's not forget the official start of Road Trip Season. Emergency bathroom breaks! Cheesy singing! Somebody having had a burrito from that last convenience-store stop, and the entire family suffering the consequences! Endless road construction and a never-ending supply of bad, rude fellow drivers! Are you there yet?
◼️ 'Tis also the official start of just doing what you did last summer — hanging out on your porch or balcony with your favorite beverage and those untaken-down strings of Christmas lights you're now pretending are summer lights — and watching the world go by. At least this summer there will be more of the world going by.
Seriously, Monday will be the day we honor those who died during active military service. As we remember them, we shouldn't take for granted the freedoms they helped secure or maintain for us ... any more than we should ever again take for granted the privilege of going to parks, parties, festivals, baseball games, shopping events and the like without threats to our health.
Hot fun, and email, in the summertime: [email protected]