Summer Rituals

Day 6 of #btbc16

Summer Rituals

Ritual: a series of actions or type of behavior regularly and invariably followed by someone: her visits to Joy became a ritual.

Hmmm... What is a regular part of my summer routine?

Last summer, it would have been going to to Dunkin Donuts between 3-6, and then going to the park afterwards with the kids.  That happened often to take advantage of the $1 coffee and the late afternoon sun.  This year, I got a new coffee pot.  

I guess one ritual that I follow is that I won't get out of bed until after 7:00am unless I absolutely have to.  Then, the first thing I do is make coffee.  That is pretty regular.

Photo from Pink Antler Cafe

We go to lots of different places, but one common thing in the summer is that I always have my camera with me.  I love taking pictures.  In the summer, I take a lot of pictures.  A lot.  You have to do what you love, right?  I actually feel like taking pictures of my family and friends helps me remember all the moments that my otherwise bad memory would have forgotten.  It helps me focus on what's important, literally and figuratively.  +Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts mentioned close reading life in their book Falling in Love with Close Reading and I have officially adopted taking pictures as the strategy that I use to achieve that.  In the summer, that strategy is in full use.

Two other rituals?  Sunscreen and bug spray applications.  Very important.

I also clear my DVR during the summer every year.  When the kids go to sleep, I watch episodes of TV shows that aired months earlier.  They are still new to me.   

(I was actually watching an episode of Castle while writing this post, and a Winter Weather Storm Warning just popped up on the screen.  It's July!!!)

What are your summer rituals?  Comment below, or write a post of your own for #btbc16.