Today is the Ides of June, the December of Summer. The summer solstice will occur on Thursday and we will quietly slide into shorter days.
I don’t know what it is about June?
June probably became my favorite month at an early age. School is over, pools are open, baseball is in full swing and ice cream tastes the best in June.
Rain is starting to develop that smell that comes to its greatness in August. Leaves still have that elasticity of newness that sounds fresh when the wind blows across them.
June was the month my Gramma’s yard started to explode with roses. Her yard on Indianola in Broad Ripple was covered with “her” rose bushes and they were spectacular. Even as a little boy I could recognize the beauty. She painstakingly took care of them every year.
One June before I moved down, I was visiting from Chicago. My Gramma and I sat on old webbed lawn chairs sipping lemonade. The yard decorated with blooming roses, the smell filled the air.
My gramma leaned over and told her sad grandson that roses bloom in June to announce the birthday for John Stephen. Roses blooming in her yard were a reminder that her daughter Cecilia’s only son has a birthday coming up.
…and God planned it that way.
That might have been the only time in my life when that old stoic German lady made me feel special. Her timing was impeccable, coming at a time when my parents were divorcing.
June is a trip to the lake. June is a picnic in the forest preserve. June is a field trip to Comiskey or Wrigley. June is camping in a tent in the backyard. June is sitting at the pool staring at lifeguards. June is a root beer float on the bench outside the TasteeFreeze.
June ushers in the summer and becomes an instant memory by the Fourth of July. June is Jack Brickhouse, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin and WLS on a transistor.
June is an old beat to shit pair of gym shoes. For us Catholic school kids, June meant no uniforms for seventy-five days.
Today is the halfway point for this glorious month. So much to do, so many places to go, so many souls to search.
I declare the Ides of June a day to do something special that defines June for YOU!
Take the time to use your senses today. Feel June with the grip of gusto and don’t let go. Hold it long enough to filter June into your heart.
Get dirty today, get laid today, get your tummy full today, get your skin red with sunlight today, get your hair wet today and get yourself a root beer float today.
Go be astonished and remember that kindness shines longer in June.
