Happy summer solstice eve

I complain a lot between mid-May and mid-September. It comes with living in a paved over stinky swamp. Since everyone has heard the negatives, I thought would find some nice things to say about east coast summers. I came up with three.

(1) Everyone goes on vacation. Rush hour almost disappears, the office is quiet, and the metro empties out at unexpected places (like Arlington Cemetery). Even the scores of illegally parked tour buses can’t dampen the joy of a half-populated city.

(2) Gardening. Some people have pets, but I’m happy to be greeted by tomatoes, assorted peppers, basil, dill, oregano, and rosemary when I get home from work. Granted, I never gardened in the northwest, but I can’t imagine my vegetables would grow as well in a colder climate (though Dad may prove me wrong this year).

(3) Thunderstorms. Despite what you see on certain overly-dramatic television shows, there are about two thunderstorms a year in Seattle. (Ahem, I’m talking about you, Grey’s Anatomy, who can’t portray rain without thunder sound effects. Silly show, you were dismissed from the TiVo long ago.) Here, on the other hand, we get doozies, sometimes on a daily basis, all spring and summer long. They come out of nowhere, turn the sky black, shake the whole house, throw electricity around, and disappear. It just doesn’t get any better… except when they come and go all day long.

And for an encore, let’s not forget the short-lived little sparks of joy… fireflies! I had my first sighting on Sunday, and my fascination with glowing bugs refuses to fade no matter how many summers I live here.

On that note, Matt and I are flying away from the humidity, traffic, and politics as fast as we can. See some of you tomorrow in Orange County!