Summer in the City

I know, I know….I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a while.  It’s funny though, I forget people actually read this thing until I stop writing on it for a little while and then have people writing me emails or seeing me and saying “Hey what’s the deal with your blog?  Dammit woman, WRITE!!”  Just kidding, they don’t say that last bit, but I know that’s what they mean.

Allow me to explain:  it is summertime in Chicago.  It’s this rare and fleeting season where everyone is social and out and about, myself included.  There are street festivals, music festivals, endless parties and I’ve been quite the social butterfly.  

Summer in the city and there’s cleavage cleavage cleavage.

I am dedicating this post to Chicago and its summer splendor.

There is this sense of adventure in the air every time the humidity hits you at night.  As the warm wind caresses your cheek you forget you’re in a huge city and are transported to a kinder place.  You let your guard down; you let your hair loose.  The nights seem endless not only because you have all the 4 a.m. bars memorized, but also because everyone is in the mood to be social and be seen.

You see friends you haven’t seen in years walking down the street; you pitch a spot at some music festival and make new ones.  There is a romance to the summer that isn’t captured at any other season.  The time stops, the days turn into nights with such an easy transition you almost miss the red sunset.

Then of course, there’s the city in all of her glory.  Rooftop parties give way to a postcard snapshot of the Chicago Skyline lit up like candles on birthday cakes.  As the humidity increases your dreams intensify, colors seem brighter, your friends: more beautiful.  You embrace chance encounters and passionate conversations while refilling your vodka tonic.  You don’t know the song but you keep dancing to it anyway, waiting for the rhythm to switch and make you feel new again, like you’ve never done this before.

 The night is yours.  You own it but can never tame it.  You thrive in its wilderness, the ignorance of where this night will take you, to whom the lake breeze blows you.  Summer in the city is swinging in the park at 2 a.m. and letting your wet skin breath in the night air with your good friends.  It’s an ice cold beer over some old buddies at a barbeque.  It’s a big bite of fresh mangoes and peaches with the juice running down your chin.  It’s a first kiss with a stranger.  It’s a moment so precious and beautiful.  It’s fleeting.

That being said, I’ll get back to my regular blogging in the fall.  Thanks for your understanding.

Love,

Jen