Dear Summer

“For we’ve been together like Nike airs, and crisp tees.”

How is it that, no matter how heavy life feels, you always come at the right time to lighten up our world? A moment before we reach our limits and crash tf out, you’re there, dangling a trip, a happy hour special or summer romance at us—a glimmer of hope to cling onto.

Speaking of romance. Do you remember our first Summer crush? Yeah, that nigga, LOL. Turns out he wasn’t the love of your life and you didn’t die. We survived.

Big Leo energy on this side, so there's a natural bond between us. But Birthdays aside, you’ve always made us feel seen. Your warm touch on our skin reminds us we’re alive and thriving.

Me and little Steph were just laughing about one of our favorite summer memories—the icy lady. Do you remember we’d go to the cart and get an icy for 25 cents?...a literal quarter. Now $1 barely gets you a taste. A Costco sample puts them to shame on their best day.

I know, we’re showing our age but damn have times changed.

“ Coco…mango…cherry…rainbow”.

Music to our ears. We spent many summers running through all the flavors. Coconut when we “better not dirty that shirt” and cherry/rainbow when we were allowed to be kids.

RIP to the shirts that didn’t survive against the icy lady's offerings. Those stains left behind are an underappreciated relic.

As we've grown, we’ve tried to be “real adults" and not get carried away but who are we kidding? Still, once we hear Mr. Softee’s theme song echoing through the streets and the inside air starts smelling like outside, you know we’re all yours. Forever yours, really.

Do you still get sad when Labor day comes around? Because we do…always have, always will. Some people have an irrational fear of wearing white after the holiday. But, we fear going back to our mundane lives because you bring so much joy each time you visit.

As children we loathed getting back to daily routines—especially waking up at the crack of ass to go to school. Now, as soon as the barricades leave the parkway, your spicy hot temperatures slowly transition to something more mild. Things feel…serious nowadays? We’ve traded expansive summer months for summer Fridays. Who signed us up for this shit?

But you never really leave, do you? You sneak back in with a random September/early October heat wave, daring us to throw on cutoff denim shorts one last time. Or when we have a random Tuesday craving for a seafood boil and it transports us back to those City Island nights. We’ve inhaled enough garlic butter-glossed crustaceans and overflowing henny coladas to last us a lifetime. We’ve had fun together.

We’ll miss you and we know you’ll be back. But like all good things, we must come to an end. Please show the same love to my friends.

Dear Summer.

Editor’s Note: This post was intended to be read as a letter from my inner child to Summer, on behalf of my adult self—two versions of me that always feel revived by my favorite season.