 It was the summer of 2017, and I was experiencing my first-ever summer not spent in my hometown. No matter where I moved over the years, I had always managed to get back to Idaho in the summer to catch up with family and friends. Not only was a new summer now beginning, but a new season of life as well. I had gotten married and moved across the country to my husband’s hometown in Connecticut, and we were now living on the family farm in the very home his deeply loved grandparents had lived in. They had passed on years before I got the chance to meet them, but sharing the space they had occupied built a sense of connection - a sense of family that I was now adopting as part of my own story, as happens when two lives join their family lines together. Neil and I got married in September 2016, and then the seasons slipped one-by-one from fall, winter, spring, and now to summer. I was in a new town, a new family, and a new community. While I loved my new world, I struggled with homesickness and with all the things that come with being "new in town." I was alone in the house while Neil was in the barn milking the cows. It was just turning to dusk, and I found myself gazing out the large kitchen window Neil’s grandparents must have gazed through hundreds, if not thousands of times - taking in the view. It was a breathtaking view of dark, lush green foliage from the trees and bright pink, white, and purple blooms from the garden. It was summer. It was magnetic. I could just feel that something was out there, even if I couldn't see it. I've often gazed out this window at the surrounding view. Sometimes whatever's out there will show itself - whether it's a fox slinking past the garden like a spy on a mission, or whether it's our sweet little philosophical chipmunk friend sitting in the grass on his haunches while contemplating life in stillness. This particular evening, what decided to show itself was a brief pinpoint of light hovering in the yard. The longer I looked, the more I saw: tiny pinpricks of floating, flashing lights dancing in the dark for a moment and then hiding away and reappearing somewhere else. Fireflies. All of a sudden, my heart time-traveled to my childhood - to Tennessee - visiting the home of my now-gone grandparents who lived there. It traveled to their huge yard with no fence...grass and fireflies floating on as they mingled with the neighbors’ yards. It was one giant grassy playground for children prancing around at dusk, catching fireflies in jars and in their hands. That was me and my sister. In Idaho, fireflies are something you read about in books or see in movies, but you don’t experience them. When we visited our grandparents in Tennessee in the summertime, a whole new magic was added to our lives. And that magic had followed me to this very moment - back to my new season of summer, all the way over the years and to Connecticut. And it showed me there was indeed something familiar in this new place. I was home. * * * Looking to create a little summertime firefly magic of your own? Check out these awesome resources and create some fun! My Bug Jar Craft Kit Fireflies by Mary R. Dunn Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle Disclosure: If you purchase from links in this post, I may receive some kind of affiliate commission (at no additional cost to you). I will only promote products that I personally use or can recommend without hesitation. Thank you for your support in this way!   Sometimes I get lured into thinking that the only cozy seasons are fall and winter. For example, this morning as I poured myself a hot cup of coffee, I realized (with a bit of sadness) that with the onset of summer, my cozy morning routine of relaxing with a hot cup of coffee was soon going to disappear. New England summers in historic farmhouses don’t necessarily come with the luxuries of central air conditioning! So, as you can imagine, hot cups of coffee don’t have their usual calming effect during the summer months. But before I could get too nostalgic, I suddenly remembered the joys of COLD coffee! Ah, yes, cold coffee with cream, you will be exactly what I need this summer! How could I have forgotten you? And the thought of getting to enjoy cold coffee on hot days got me excited about all the other cozy things of summer, and I remembered something important: There is something to enjoy in every season. When I think about the impending hot summer months, I have a choice to make. I can get sad that autumn and the soon-to-follow Christmas seasons are far away, or I can remember that summer brings its own world of things to enjoy: fireflies at dusk, peeper frogs echoing across the fields, choruses of birds in the trees, curious crickets finding their way onto the porch, and the Fourth of July celebration (which includes a book sale - yay!!). When summer ends, these things end, too. But they will be back again the next year, and I can enjoy them once again. And when they go, I'll say a temporary goodbye and embrace the next season and all that comes with it. And isn't it true with life? Every season has something new to love. You will miss it when it’s gone, but then the new season brings with it something completely new and different to love. The seasons come and go in their due time. Let them do their thing while you do your thing: finding what there is to enjoy right here and now, knowing that new seasons will circle around again with new things to love. And if all you can find to enjoy right now is cold coffee, then let it be cold coffee. I understand. Sometimes it’s the little things that are the big things. ;) A very happy summer to you all! * * * Create your own summer coziness with some cold coffee inspo! Check out these tasty ideas to get your own cold coffee joy going: Texas Jack's Famous Cold Brew Coffee Recipes by Dennis Waller Make Mine Cold Brew by Renae Clark Starbucks Cold Brew Black Unsweetened Califia Farms Mocha Cold Brew Coffee Wandering Bear Straight Black Coffee Primula Pace Cold Brew Coffee Maker Disclosure: If you purchase from links in this post, I may receive some kind of affiliate commission (at no additional cost to you). I will only promote products that I personally use or can recommend without hesitation. Thank you for your support in this way!  |
AuthorWelcome to The Cozy Corner - your place for all things cozy! Have a look around - you'll find book recommendations, coffee, fuzzy blankets, cozy socks, and inspiration for slowly savoring the seasons. Enjoy! Archives
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