I hate to say it, and I don't want to admit it but here it is:
There are only 11 days left before September 1st.
Summertime is winding down, and we are on the precipice of a new school year and the long, cold months of winter. As the inevitable change of seasons draws nearer, I've been trying to think of ways to hold on to the glorious langour and ease that's associated with summer for the year ahead.
The answer came to me in a jar of fruit preserves.
I imagined how nice it would be to open up a jar of summer peaches in the middle of the cold, drizzly, and- let's be honest- depressing month of January. The fruit would serve as a reminder of the warmth of vibrance that had graced the earth just five months earlier, although all evidence of that time would be long gone. It was then that I realized that not only can we store up on summer foods to get us through those difficult winter months, but that saving up our summer memories can be just as rewarding. When the weather is nasty and life seems like it's become a bit of a slog, drawing on a reserve of special memories is an instantaneous way to lift the spirits and infuse life with a small surge of vibrancy.
An impromptu summer dinner in the backyard, an afternoon spent making a berry pie with the kids, taking a walk as the sun begins to set, s'mores at a bonfire, sleeping outside in the backyard, nights without bedtimes spent gazing at the stars, an afternoon at the lake or the ocean.
Start storing up now. Remembering experiences like these or any others that are special to your family are like balm for the soul, capable of conjuring warm breezes and mellow sunshine in even the bleakest of winter months.
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A little known but rather wonderful tidbit about life during the Victorian era was a sensitivity to the changing seasons and a corresponding adjustment of interior decor. For each season, Victorian women had different linens, mantle decorations, vases, flower arrangements, and place settings to match the changes of the natural world.
