Thankful Tuesday Summer

Last updated on: August 10, 2010 at 2:26 pm by michaboyett

Thankful Tuesday Summer 2010-08-10T14:26:33-07:00 michaboyett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s Thankful Tuesday. I spent last night participating in one of the great American summer pastimes. I joined my husband, my brother and my sister in law at a Giants/Cubs game. We ate hotdogs and garlic fries.

We also drank hot chocolate. Aimee and I covered our legs with a blanket. We wore three layers of clothes, mittens, and I sported a lovely yellow winter hat. Yes, this is month of August in San Francisco.

I’ve always been a summer girl. I love being hot. I love pools and air conditioning and stopping at the snow cone stand and playing outside all evening with shorts on. My favorite memories are warm memories. My birthday, my husband’s birthday, my son’s birthday, Young Life camp, childhood sprinkler days in the front yard. I appreciate fall. I’m thrilled for spring. Winter is necessary. But the world is most itself in summertime.

That’s why I was tentative about summer in San Francisco before we moved here. Mark Twain told me the little I knew: “The coldest winter of my life was the summer I spent in San Francisco,” he said.

My husband had recited Twain’s quote to me last summer while we packed our living room. I piled books in boxes, soothing myself with the notion that Mark Twain was always melodramatic. I could handle a chillier summer. Here’s what I didn’t understand:

That my heater would be on for the entire month of July.
That there really is no such thing as an outdoor pool in the city of San Francisco.
That so much of what I adore about summer, even down to the type of food I love to eat, is contingent on warm weather.

Yes, my idea of summer is a Romantic notion. Yes, all of you who’ve been suffering through the biggest heat wave in years don’t feel sorry for my summer in the cloudy 50s. But, I have to tell you, I’m jealous of you. I long for heat and tank tops and shorts. I long for sunburns and tomatoes and mozzarella by the pool. I long for “summer reading” and late nights on the porch. I long for ice-cold lemonade.

So why am I writing this on Thankful Tuesday? It’s because I can’t help but be reminded that all my current summer-less sadness is not doing me a lot of good. And I want to be thankful to be here in this beautiful city. I have to admit I’ve spent the past two months counting down till I can get back to a land with summertime. But that’s not fair to the time I’m here presently. Ungrateful is not who I want to be.

So what does it mean to be grateful for something you’re not grateful for? I know I can be grateful for my family and our opportunity to be in this lovely city. I can be grateful for my friends here and my church. I can be grateful for the moments I’ve had traveling out of the city and into the sunshine this summer. But can I actually be grateful for the summer I haven’t had?

What does it mean to be thankful for something you’re not naturally thankful for?

Uncategorized

present moment

Thankful Tuesday

Previous Post

August 8, 2010

New poem! New poem!

Next Post

August 11, 2010 Making Room for God

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Deeper Church Beautiful Beautiful and Broken Books Broken Deeper Story Family and the Christian Year Family Life Found Friends Guest Post Invitation Motherhood My Chalkboard One Good Phrase Pinterest Place and Stability Poetry Practicing Benedict Thankful Tuesday The Daily The Mama Monk the Praying Life The Pursuit of Enough This Sacred Everyday Uncategorized Vlog Women and the Church World Vision

Select a Month March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the first miracle Jesus performed according to John's Gospel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Turning water into wine Raising Lazarus Walking on water Feeding the 5000