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KEEP CALM, Summer’s Coming (15 Days of Sunshine-Inspired Songs) SONG 3

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Don’t bother me, I’m on vacation.  –author unknown

“Drums, please.”

Summer is finally in full swing, but I’ve been listening to this jam continuously since April!  “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince was a chart-topper in 1991.  Back then, I was a self-involved high school student and summertime was my time 🙂

When you’re a teenager summer means staying up late, sleeping in, pajamas all day, and ice cream for lunch…behavior completely unacceptable for adults (?)  And what would summer be without friends?  Back then my BFF and I made a pact to go out every single night…and in our small town that meant cruising Main street.  Never mind that we were the only car out on a Tuesday night.  Never mind the miles we burned (or the gas we wasted.)  Never mind how crazy our parents thought we were.  We had each other AND our music…and one of those songs was this one.

A summer playlist staple, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince won a Grammy for Best Rap song that year.  The tune also topped out at No. 4 on the Billboard charts and was eventually re-released as a new remix in 2012.  (A little different from the original by fun nonetheless!)

Twenty-six years later, “Summertime” still represents all of the highlights of my teenage life between May and August.  Sunglasses, flip flops, no place to go and all day to get there.  There were cookouts, afternoons at the pool, backyard volleyball, water fights, cruising, river parties, friends and of course, boys.  And even when I managed to grow up a little and snag some part-time work…SUMMERTIME was always my full-time job.

 

Up next:  SONG 4…”we’ll be having some fun….”

Adios, Summer….

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For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven…. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Summer is definitely NOT my favorite season.  Too hot.  Too many bugs.  Idle hands (and all that entails.)  And yet, of all the four seasons, it is the most magical!  Anything can (and usually does) happen in the summer.  Long days lend themselves to contemplation, soul-searching and deep pondering…three of my absolute favorite things.

Summer is complicated and easy at the same time.  For me, innumerable hours of drive time, ball games and travel make for a hectic schedule, but it’s a good kind of busy.  Dealing with active/bored teenagers 24/7 has its cons, but with each passing year I experience so many more of the pros.  Soaking up sunshine and staying up late under starry skies makes for a happy heart.  (And hiding out in the AC is equally as good!)  It’s during these times that I find true gratitude and real, meaningful peace.  I know it won’t always be like this.  Maybe that’s why I savor these summer days so much…and I’m so incredibly saddened when this special season ends.

As we wrap up Summer 2018, I offer up my “song of summer.”  I choose one every year…a habit that began in my youth.  This summer’s song sparked tons of dialogue on long car rides as I FORCED any (and all) passengers to sit and listen.  And if you think pop stars Macklemore and Kesha have little to offer…think again.  My kiddos could probably write a paper about why this song speaks to me and then list the lessons in it for them as well.  I’m not trying to say this track will change the world, but as far as summer songs go…there’s something to be said about the “Good Old Days.”  Adios, summer….

“Someday soon, your whole life’s gonna change,
You’ll miss the magic of these good old days…”