Lazy Days of Summer

It’s July and in the northern hemisphere we are in the summer season, although I have to take this by faith because we haven’t had evidence of it on the West Coast (dubbed Wet Coast). Summer is no less busy than any other time of year but the activities and responsibilities are often less structured. This week on Kingdom Bloggers, we’re sharing our favourite summertime activities. What are your favourite things to do in summer?

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The summers in the York household are the same, but different every year. Canadian school system requires students to attend classes until the end of June, summer is kick-started with our national holiday on July 1.

Every year (for the past 8 years), my summer activities begin with an extended girl’s weekend with my two oldest friends (since high school). One lives in Korea and another in Manitoba; sometimes we meet in Manitoba and sometimes on the West Coast and always our weekends involve spa time, lunch at the Olive Garden and an evening of prayer and worship. Even though we don’t talk much during the year, it’s easy to pick up where we left off and the most important question is, “What has God been doing in your life for the past year?” I love these weekends and it’s my favourite way to start summer.

Another signal to the start of summer is the grand opening of the pool. My Boy looks forward to it and suddenly our house is the favourite “hang-out” spot among his friends. I’ve never loved the water and it has to be really hot for me to get into the pool but I love that it forces me to stop for an hour or two everyday and relax while my Boy and his friends swim and play. He’s too young to allow him to swim by himself but old enough where my eye doesn’t have to be trained on him the whole time so I can close my eyes for a moment and lap up the warmth of the sun or get busy with summertime reading.

The York family has had a piece of waterfront property on the west coast of Vancouver Island for 100+ years. It’s a remote fishing village and takes a nearly full day to traverse over ferries, logging roads and a boat ride to get there but once there, it’s a pleasant week of beach time, happy hour (which starts at 2pm) and the best from the pacific ocean (prawns, crabs, salmon and halibut – yum!) In a crazy, over-protected world, my Boy enjoys the freedom to go off by himself (or with a cousin) to explore and make belief; give them a hammer, nails and some twine and the boys are busy for hours.

The rest of the summer is filled with trips to the lake, barbeques, weekend trips to Whistler, and extended visits with cousins. As I said, summer is busy and filled with activity but it feels more relaxed and less hectic than the activities throughout the rest of the year. Now, if only we could get some warm weather, then I’ll really feel like we’re experiencing summer.