UNITED STATES—Well, for many Americans the past few months have been brutal in the weather department. Between snow, cold temperatures, storms and for some ice storms, the warmer temperatures have become a welcome relief. In a few days the official kick-off to summer will begin as Memorial Day ushers itself in. Gas prices spike, people get outdoors much more, the winter clothes get stashed away and grilling season kicks off. Memorial Day is part of what I consider the big three BBQ days (Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day).
With all national holidays, I don’t think many Americans actually celebrate the holidays for what they should be celebrated for. I mean Memorial Day is remembrance for all those who fought for us so that we didn’t have to. Why isn’t this celebrated more? I feel like we use all three of these days to spend time with family and host outdoor cooking events instead of actual honoring those who fought for the country. This is not to say that is a bad thing, but we really need to be more in tune with celebrating the holidays with the actual reason for the holiday and not look at it as another day off from work.
With that being said, summer is not my favorite time of the year because I hate the heat. I know that sounds terrible, but depending on what part of the country you reside in, the summer temperatures could be downright miserable. However, the great thing about summer is that it does indeed allow for activities outdoors, house cleaning, swimming, amusement parks, cookouts, yardwork and longer periods of sunlight. That is something promising: the additional hours of sunlight? Yet, I’ve always wondered why we don’t have longer periods of sunlight during the winter months versus the summer. More people seem to be out and about during the winter months than during the summer; I’ll never understand that logic to be honest.
The notion of visiting one of the best amusement parks in the world: Cedar Point dawns at the kick-off of summer. I mean I’m a thrill seeker and this place delivers those thrills unlike any amusement park. Yes, Disney Land and Disney World are fun, but those places are more so for kids not adults if you ask me. There is nothing like a fresh cut lawn, getting the garden in order, trimming trees and bushes and making the house look as nifty as possible.
The same applies for the interior of the home. Too many people argue the importance of spring cleaning, but I think you’re able to get much down when summer actually dawns on us. The warmer temps, the overflow of seeing people outside gets others to take action. Of course, it’s not summer if you’re not cooking outdoors. Grill season last about 3-4 months and I think that is just about right. You can only eat grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, chicken, veggies, seafood, coleslaw, baked beans, corn, potato salad, watermelon, ice cream and all those summer staples. I mean if someone told me its okay to eat grilled hotdogs seven days a week, I’d think they were crazy.
You can only have something for so long before it becomes old or stale. Memorial Day is also a sign that the end of the school year is fast approaching. For college students, the academic year has already ended and they’re on the hunt for employment, while youngsters, middle schoolers and high school students are just aiming to get outdoors and have fun. I think the most important thing I can say about Memorial Day is that it is like a burst of fresh air. You get the opportunity to reinvent yourself.
For some that may be in terms of a physical transformation to display that body just in time for the summer months or perhaps to just put that psyche that may have been tortured during Winter and Spring the opportunity to reboot itself. Summer is here, and for many of us, it’s the best time of the year.
