30 July 2009

"Summertime and the livin' is easy" --George Gershwin



I am all over summer. It is my favorite season.

Some of the things I love about summer:

  • less clothes in general and sun dresses in particular
  • grilled foods
  • feeling the sun on my skin
  • having a vast array of ripe fruits and berries and melons
  • day lilies and hydrangea
  • Silver Queen corn and tomatoes that taste like tomatoes
  • having hours of daylight to enjoy after I come home from work
  • ice cream
  • craving and enjoying salads
  • people coming out of their hideyholes, smiling

Summer is languorous. Summer is delicious.

And probably the thing I love most about summer is my lack of footwear. If it were socially acceptable I'd be barefoot all the freakin' time. From early spring to late fall, I wear sandals when I'm out and I'm barefoot when I'm home. Always. Like the moment I come in the door from work the shoes come off. And if I'm around the house, I'm barefoot, too. I love the feel of grass under my feet.

And this makes me a "bad example." You see the neighbor kids are not permitted to go barefoot outside. Can you believe that? Not ever. Their parents have convinced them that going barefoot is dangerous and dirty. The kids have even suggested that my going barefoot is dangerous and dirty.

Aren't all the fun things in life described this way?

17 comments:

PQ said...

Barefoot is the way to be.

Even if you get glass stuck in your foot.

Bowie Mike said...

Do you live next door to me? I'm always yelling at my kids to put something on their feet. Yes, all fun things are dirty and dangerous. The best things will cause you to poke an eye out.

G said...

I will go a few steps forward and suggest that perhaps cutting the lawn, making dinner, watching TV, walking the beaches, doing whatever, would all be more relaxing with NO clothes on.
Of course I, like most, would be too embarrassed to go nudie, even on a clothing optional beach (Orient Beach, St. Martin). I would never stay at a Nudist Resort because it would be too hard (pun?) to not peak.

G said...

OK, it's PEEK.

f.B said...

I haven't worn flip flops once this summer. I have been oppressing my feet.

AbbotOfUnreason said...

I am so over summer. (See what I did there? ha ha) It's the worst of the seasons, just as your chicken says.

I also can't stand to have my feet unshod. Even in the safety of the house.

Mike said...

"dangerous and dirty"

I think that's a topic for a whole other post.

The Bug said...

I used to love going barefoot, but now that I'm old & have arthritis in my hip I can't stand for too long in bare feet. But I have croc flip flops & they're ALMOST like being barefoot.

When I was a kid in NC we were allowed to start going barefoot outside after Memorial Day. The first day I could I would go out & run up & down our gravel driveway to toughen my feet up for the coming summer.

Pretty Unfamous said...

I love sun dresses! I only wish I could wear them to work. Being a waitress, though, I've gotta wear a uniform....

Narm said...

Dangerous and Dirty (Diana)?

Are MJ references still ok or did I miss the boat? I mean they haven't even buried him yet.

Little Ms Blogger said...

OMG. I was seriously going to write an entry on walking barefoot outside.

I was outside today without shoes and realized so few people don't go barefoot anymore. I am stumped as to why.

However, I couldn't think of enough material for an entire blog, but am happy I can exclaim my love for walking barefoot here.

Alice said...

my mom didn't let us run around barefoot either! she said it was because we tracked more dirt in the house that way, though.

Alex said...

nothing says summer like the feel of warm asphalt under bare feet.

Barbara said...

As a kid growing up in Florida I was never allowed to go barefoot. There was always the threat of worms -- ringworms, pinworms, hookworms. A lot of kids did go barefoot all the time in the summer and I never knew of anyone who got worms. I think my feet really missed out on an opportunity. My mother believed old wives' tales, many of them!

rachaelgking said...

That's redonculous. Everyone knows kids need to play in the dirty... those neighbors are going to have crazy immune system deficiencies!

lacochran said...

PQ: Worth it. Totally.

Bowie Mike: Tell your kids next time the ball comes into my lawn I'm keeping it!

G: Maybe it's both?

f.B: I didn't know you had a cruel side. Cool!

AbbotofUnreason: Wow. Just... wow.

Mike: Write it!

The Bug: That's the spirit! Gravel, searing hot roads, all of it!

Angela: Probably not terrible, unless it's those tacky Hooters outfits.

Narm: I lose track--where did they bury his nose(s)?

Little Ms Blogger: Kindred spirits!

Alice: Well, yeah, probably. Still...

Alex: Yeah!

Barbara: It's never too late to have a happy childhood!

LiLu: That's what I'm thinking. We're raising a bunch of lightweights and they'll all get wiped out by the first bug that comes along.

Kate said...

Silver Queen! I swear to christ you are the only person outside my family who's ever mentioned it! My grandfather used to grow that kind of corn and it is my very favorite on this planet.