The longest day of the year.

It doesn’t matter if you are a sleep-deprived parent, an ‘angsty’ teen, or a child waiting to hear what the ‘we’ll see verdict’ turns out to be, young or old, poor or rich, pessimistic or optimistic, we all have these never-ending days or moments. The one real longest day of the year, the summer solstice, doesn’t drag it has some magic in it. It feels long but if you live it right it’s like those best moments of your life that you don’t want to end. You want to stay suspended in time or be like BluPrint and Jade on So You Think You Can Dance who move with the quirky grace of a stop motion film extending each part of every move.

If you missed it completely it is no big deal. It comes around every year. If you did capture the day, and breathe it’s magic in deeply, then let it set the tone for summer. You might not have weeks off or even days off this summer, but if you watch a clock between each tick of the seconds hand there can be a tiny lag. Collect up those spaces between the seconds. What I mean by this is loosen the routine. Leave the dishes an extra 10 minutes (or overnight if you dare). Sit on the stoop to enjoy your dinner and the extra minutes after. Skip a bath night and run through the sprinkler and call it a night. Skip breakfast, and grab a handful of granola bars to go for an early morning pajama stroll/scoot around the block before heading to work.

Summer is officially here and it’s asking you to loosen your tie and walk barefoot a little.