Summer

For those of us who had relatively happy childhoods, or at least scattered pleasant memories of Junes, Julys, and Augusts gone by, I think we are always trying a little bit to recreate the feelings of those good old summers.

Summer is the most sensory-stimulating time of year, for me anyway, and everything I associate with it has a unique smell or taste or sound.

When I was little, on hot summer days when my dad would be mowing the lawn, my mom would encourage me to take him something cold to drink. In most Wisconsin families, that would have meant a sweaty can of Miller Lite or a brown Leinenkugel’s bottle fresh from the refrigerator; in our house, it meant a tall glass of Lipton Iced Tea, in a faded Badgers- or Packers-themed plastic cup, a freebie from some long ago game that became a permanent fixture in our cabinets.

I took my role as Dad’s Refreshment Provider very seriously. No one could make him iced tea like I could. Never mind that it was simply a glass of water vigorously stirred with excessive amounts of iced tea mix and topped with some fat ice cubes. I mean really excessive amounts – I would fill the bottom quarter of the cup with light brown powder that looked like pure sugar. This was the only way it tasted good to me, and if my dad would have preferred something a little less painfully saccharine, he never let on.

I usually made a second glass for myself, but I never ordered iced tea at a restaurant. That is, not after the great mistake of 1995, when my mother and I were at the mall and I stubbornly insisted that the iced tea on sale at the Gloria Jean’s Coffee Shop would taste the same as what I made at home for my dad. Mom tried to tell me that it wouldn’t be nearly as sweet, that it was in fact unsweetened, but I could not be dissuaded. I took one sip, swallowed with a grimace, and marched sullenly over to the side corridor to wash my mouth out with bubbler water, dumping the offending drink in the trash on my way.

The taste is one of those things you chase after in later years, trying to find again, like the perfect pair of jeans you once found on clearance that the brand doesn’t make anymore. It is of a time. For some reason in the last few days I started thinking about the iced tea and hoped, prayed, that maybe I could find it and concoct the same perfect ratio of mix to water to ice cubes. Today, dear reader, I did it. I found the correct type at Target (which wasn’t easy because the canister as I remember it of course isn’t the same color/typeface/graphics as it was in 1995), came home, noted that the recommended amount of mix for 1 glass was 4 tsp, and promptly stirred in 1/4 cup. I don’t have any of the old faded Badgers or Packers plastic cups; I wish I had at least one for sentiment’s sake, but I just have regular water glasses. Anyway, I mixed, I tasted…I was nine again.

What I’m Reading:

• “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller, as recommended to me by my friend Kate, who has excellent taste. I don’t really get into mythologies that much, but I’m quite enjoying this tale as told from a very different perspective.
• I haven’t been reading as much lately because of my new job, which perhaps I’ll write about next time, but for now I’ll just say I like it a lot and I’m very happy.

What I’m Watching:

• Game of Thrones is over, and we all have our feelings. AP Bio has been canceled, because there is no justice in this world. We’ve mostly been watching Always Sunny reruns, but I have ambitions to start the following, with or without V: Pen15, Fleabag, Killing Eve.
• We did watch Sleepless in Seattle last night because I had never seen it and I don’t think they let you become a legal resident of Seattle until you have done so. It’s so cute!

What I’m Buying:

• Lots of Lipton Iced Tea, I’ll tell you that.
• Searching and searching for a proper bridesmaid dress for Michelle’s wedding in September. I am very picky.

What Else I’ve Been Up To:

• We spent a few beautiful hours today at Gasworks Park, which boasts incredible views of downtown and Lake Union, reading on a picnic blanket and trying to pet other people’s dogs. It was a truly lovely day.