Hello Sunshine

Having grown up in Miami and later spending over a decade in Houston, you’d think I’d have developed a tolerance for hot weather. But nothing reminds me of my distaste for it more than a heat wave—days that feel like slogging through life with a boulder on your back. I know it’s temporary, but it feels interminable.

Even if it’s not the heat, surely, you’ve had something feel like it would never end: a headache that won’t quit, a lingering heartache. We often treat discomfort like an unwelcome guest—without patience or grace. Personally, I want summer to hurry up and turn into fall, and I could give you a long list of reasons why... but I doubt that would be interesting—or helpful. It certainly wouldn’t change the season.

So instead of piling on complaints, I’m looking for relief in things that bring joy and perspective. Joy is easy enough—it’s the season for soft serve, after all. And perspective found me in this poem. Timely.

June
by John Updike

The sun is rich
And gladly pays
In golden hours,
Silver days,

And long green weeks
That never end.
School’s out. The time
Is ours to spend.

There’s Little League,
Hopscotch, the creek,
And, after supper,
Hide-and-seek.

The live-long light
Is like a dream,
And freckles come
Like flies to cream.

Where do you turn when life turns up the heat?