somewhere between a wish and a season

You know the way summer can taste like every single dream you ever had, all come true at once?

The way corn and melon and grilled meat remind you of happy times, the way Fritos and Jolly Ranchers take you back to rest periods on the pool lawn, the way fresh berries taste exactly like a warm morning hike.  The way cold ice cream  cones and generous slices of peach cobbler can make it feel like you've fallen into dreams you hadn't even dreamed of yet.

You know the way summer can look like some kind of fantasy you forgot to imagine entirely?

The way your kids pile in the hammock together and plan the future.  The way they snuggle close to share a book, sticky and smelling like sunscreen and grass.  The way the yard is littered with wet towels and abandoned scooters, squirt guns and excavation kits and at least eighteen kinds of balls.

You know the way summer can feel a lot like all your wildest wishes, wonderfully outrageous and suddenly very real?

The way fireflies floating upward, little points of light amid tall blades of grass, make time - even bedtime - obsolete.  The way the sky, a wavering sheet of blue, changes, clouds rolling in fast, issuing just enough rain drops to remind everyone who's boss.  The way parental perspective can change lightening quick too, can alternate between tired and energized.

You know the way the door to even more possibilities opens again every morning, the way there's always at least a thin slice of sunshine to step into?