Summer Breeze

Makes me feel fine...

When it's summer in Seattle you know it.

Down here in Charleston you can't really tell. Or at least I can't because I haven't seen the winters down here. Almost every day I've been down here it's been in the mid 80s to as high as 100 degrees. I can count the number of overcast days (not even raining all day like it does in Seattle) here in Charleston on 1 hand.

And you know, honestly I was afraid that being in the sun every day (like some parts of this country) would be oppressive. Especially with the humidity down here. I thought it would get old after a month after seeing how I felt about Vegas on day 4 of a "vacation". But it hasn't been bad at all although I think it would a lot worse if we were further inland.

The reason I'm writing it this post is because this afternoon was the first time I looked around me and really felt "summer".

One of my defining moments of each summer - and I understand it might seem silly to others - is getting that moment when the sun is about halfway down, around 6:30 or 7 pm...it's in the upper 70s to lower 80s and I'm driving with my windows down, sunglasses on and music up. Given gas prices these days it's rare that I feel like I could just drive with no destination. Regardless I took my time coming home from running an errand this afternoon.

I'm sure I could've felt this way earlier when I was here. But since I work from home and everything we need is in walking distance on this island, there hasn't been any reason for me to really drive anywhere. One of the most amazing things about working from home is that I haven't filled up my gas tank in my car since...dramatic pause...April. Yes - it's true. It'll be 4 months since I've filled up my tank on the 28th of this month. And I've still got about 70 miles left to drive on this current tank before I need to fill up again.

I think I'll strive to only have to fill up twice while in South Carolina. I kind of get confused in regards to oil changes because they say, "Either 3 months or 3,000 miles". But really, do I have to go in to get my oil changed when I've only driven my car about 10 or 15 times (a total of 200 miles!) in the past 4 months? I guess I'll have to research that.

Every Wednesday night the restaurant down the street from us, Brewer's Bistro, has live music. And since the river is about a quarter mile from our front door the breeze off of the water floats the music down to our porch. The amazing thing about the music is that the wind usually blows in gusts. So standing on our front steps you can suddenly hear the music as if it was 30 feet away and then just as quickly as it hit your ears it's just a faint inkling of sound in the distance.

Every week that I've heard the music I'm always surprised. Hopefully after this week I'll remember that they're having live music next week. Every week that I hear the music I take the dog on a peaceful evening stroll with the Jason Mraz/Jack Johnson type music in the background as our soundtrack. The island is so quiet at night that the music can carry really well. Usually they don't start with the music until about 7 pm and they play well on in to the night. I love walking to the Bistro at dusk when the music is playing because everyone is sitting outside enjoying each other's company along with the cool breeze. Women sitting in their sun dresses and men in their button ups...the sun slowly falling beyond the horizon and painting the clouds that dot the sky a dark purple. The flicker from the gas lanterns dances on the glasses of wine and beer. For a moment I find peace.

And I know it sounds cheesy, but tonight I just had to sigh and realize I'd be leaving here probably sooner than I would like to. Which was probably the original intention of this post. I'm already missing being down here and I'm torn because I'd like to stay but at the same time I miss home and my family just as much.

So for now I'll just recognize that I've let this place in - I've let it affect me. And I'll try to take advantage of the rest of the time I've got down here.

Sweet days of summer...