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Original Watercolor Paintings

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Summer Time Well Being

June 24, 2014 · Leave a Comment

A long, long time ago in a far off land my best friend was a boy named Michael who lived up the street. We were both around 6 or 7 years old and we loved playing together. 

I recall sitting in the ivy under the big oak tree with big pillows stuffed under our broadly stripped cotton shirts and mom serving us lunch as we played at being Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. We also collected rudimentary fishing gear while wearing those unstuffed shirts and spent many lazy days catching snapper off a pier in the sound. 

We configured and re-configured race tracks in Mike’s basement. And much to the chagrin of our older sisters – we played at being spies, learning how to be stealthy, sneaking up to eavesdrop on their older-kid-doings in the fields at the end of our street. I think that was the only time we were actually quiet!

We climbed trees, road bikes, caught frogs in window wells and butterflies in nets. We mixed potato chips with our Bazooka bubble gum as we watched the Wizard of Oz while propped up on our elbows on pillows on our bellies close to the TV set. Back then it was a real event because the Wizard of Oz only came on once a year! And as I recall this event also signaled the coming to the end of “summer time.”

“Summer Time” was not only a season, but a quality of time. It was  when we generally enjoyed enjoying life. It was when school let out and we readily cast ourselves a drift to do NOTHING and loved every moment AND it’s unfolding. There were no expectations of accomplishing goals or making the grade. We just got up with the day and made it up as we went along.

We were off the clock when we were in it. We were in summer time. We are now in summer time. We are well. We are just well… well… BEING.

How will you spend your summer time this year?

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Lani received a B.F.A from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1986 and earned a B.A in Art Education from NCCU in 2000.
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