Ice cream and hugs and blueberries and LeAnn Rimes and Olympic memes.
This summer was full of joy and sadnessAdventure and confusion, excitement and exhaustion – and that’s just the internet for five minutes. But real life was like that for me and pretty much everyone I know.
As a writer, I make lists through ups and downs: of things I need to do, of things I want to do, of things I want to remember, of things I need to remember. This is my list of things that got me through this summer:
Watch the Olympics. USA women’s basketball team! Archers in funny hats! Sha’Carri Richardson’s smile after a race! Simone Biles doing literally everything! The guy on the pommel horse! It’s all glorious.
Watching the Olympics with my kids. And watching them celebrate the glory of people who excel at table tennis, kayak slalom, breakdancing, and every other absurd and amazing sport.
Look at Olympic memes. This is literally the only reason the Internet exists.
Watching the Olympics and screaming at the TV. Katie Ledecky swims faster thanks to me.
Yelling at the screen while watching The Bachelorette. Unfortunately, these idiots never listen to me.
I’m teaching my 15-year-old son to yell at the screen while he watches The Bachelorette. We discuss the dangers of gender roles… and teach each other colorful synonyms for “idiot.”
Introducing my 15-year-old to “Ice Cream (Pay Phone)” by Black Pumas. He thinks it’s cool! My teenager thinks my music is cool!
Listen to “Ice Cream (Pay Phone)” by Black Pumas live. In Central Oregon on a hot July night with some of my best friends.
Listen to LeAnn Rimes live. Wait, LeAnn Rimes? From my childhood?
Discovering that LeAnn Rimes is incredible. How, Really unbelievable! Also, she’s 41?! (Take a moment to process that, my fellow older millennials.)
While taking a walk with my niece, I unexpectedly discovered blueberries. We eat it off the bush, put it in a baseball cap and watch her eyes grow wide as she realizes what a treasure we have found.
I share all kinds of berries that I have picked myself. Even though I picked them up from the table at the farmer’s market.
I share fries with my husband. Especially when I said I didn’t want fries, but he bought a larger pack because he knew I only wanted a few…or more than a few.
Share any kind of ice cream with anyone. And I know the people I love will ask me to share it.
Sharing limited edition Oreos with my 13 year old. We give the chocolate mint flavor a grade of 1+.
I stole a pair of surprisingly comfortable slip-on sandals from my 13-year-old. We experience a brief, magical moment when his feet are the same size as mine. Soon, soon he will be bigger and the sandals will be mine.
Take an early morning walk (in the pair of surprisingly comfortable slip-on sandals I stole from my 13-year-old).
Take a later morning walk (with the dog and one of my favorite neighbors).
Take a walk after dinner (with the dog and my husband).
A walk late at night (alone).
Encountering wildlife while walking. A bunny on the trail. A flock of waxwings in a tree. A beaver by the stream. A heron suddenly bursting out of the cattails. Frogs everywhere.
Walking into a cold river on a hot day. And I’m the first to wet my head.
I meet people I love in the café. That’s why I go to cafes. That and, of course, the pastries.
I get silly text messages from people I love. Especially ice cream recommendations and Olympic memes.
I receive comforting messages from people I love. And knowing that I am not alone.
Getting hugs from people I love. And I knew how much I needed her.
Getting hugs from strangers. And I was surprised at how much I needed it.
Be surprised how good and kind and patient and caring people are, even when it seems as if we must all be out of breath by now.
Be surprised how beautiful the world can look, even when so many things speak against beauty.
Be surprised at how good a hard summer can do. ♦
Tara Roberts is a writer who lives in Moscow with her Husband and sons. Her novel Wild and distant seas Was published in January. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @tarabethidaho.
