As my friend and I chatted, we kept referencing how this wasn’t the summer anyone had planned for.
She had planned to spend the entire month of August back here in Seattle. (She currently lives in Spain). Now she doesn’t even know when her next trip back to visit her parents and friends will be.
I would have been gearing up for the Taylor Swift concert in Los Angeles followed by going to Japan for the Summer Olympics next week. I also would have attended two friends’ weddings this month.
Every now and then, I kind of forget that we are in the middle of summer.
Maybe it’s because this is the first week that it’s actually hot in Seattle. We’ve finally reached 80-degree weather! But, I haven’t gone swimming. There haven’t been any BBQs with friends. All the usual summer activities are, well, non-existent for me right now.
Sure, I have gone on a few hikes on the weekend, which have been a nice slice of summer. It feels sort of normal — until you come across someone else on the trail. Then it’s masks up and scattering off the trail so you don’t get too close to the other hiker(s).
I am grateful for what I have been able to do this summer like the hikes, and going on nightly walks in the neighborhood with Bryce. We search for bunnies and I have kept a tally of how many I have seen during quarantine. My backyard vegetable garden seems to be thriving, too! (Well, except my poor peas that didn’t survive the heat and I think got suffocated by the huge zucchini plant that overtook it …)
We have also been able to have dinner outside on my parents’ back patio, on separate tables, every Sunday since we have been in Phase 2 of re-opening the state. I joked with my dad on when he is going to set up heat lamps … in case we still have to be eating outside once the weather gets colder. It seems far off as we are still in July but back in April I remember talking with friends about how it’d be nice to be able to go hiking together in the summer. That is clearly not a reality anymore so I don’t have high hopes for the fall and winter.
It’s obviously not the year that anyone planned for. But, when it’s summer, it all feels a bit sadder. (Come Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m sure I’ll feel differently).
Stay safe, wear your mask and don’t forget to apply that sunscreen.
otter travel more 