This summer has been full of joy and grief, adventure and confusion, excitement and exhaustion — and that's just the internet for five minutes. But real life has been that way, too, for me and pretty much everyone I know.
As a writer, I find myself making lists amid the ups and downs: of things I need to do, of things I want to do, of things I want to remember, of things I need to hold onto. This is my list of things that have been carrying me through this summer:
Watching the Olympics. Team USA women's basketball! Archers wearing funny hats! Sha'Carri Richardson's smile after a race! Simone Biles doing literally anything! Pommel horse guy! It's all glorious.
Watching the Olympics with my kids. And watching them appreciate the glory of people who excel at table tennis and kayak slalom and breakdancing and every absurd and amazing sport.
Looking at Olympics memes. This is literally the only reason to have the internet.
Watching the Olympics while yelling at the TV. Katie Ledecky swims faster because of me.
Yelling at the screen while watching The Bachelorette. Unfortunately, those doofuses never listen to me.
Introducing my 15-year-old to yelling at the screen while watching The Bachelorette. We're discussing the perils of gender roles... and teaching each other colorful synonyms for "jerkface."
Introducing my 15-year-old to "Ice Cream (Pay Phone)" by Black Pumas. He thinks it's cool! My teen thinks my music is cool!
Listening to "Ice Cream (Pay Phone)" by Black Pumas live. In central Oregon on a hot July night with some of my best friends.
Listening to LeAnn Rimes live. Wait, LeAnn Rimes? From when I was a kid?
Discovering that LeAnn Rimes is amazing. Like, really amazing! Also she is 41?! (Take a moment to process this, my fellow Elder Millennials.)
Discovering unexpected huckleberries while on a walk with my niece. Eating them off the bush and dropping them into a baseball cap and watching her eyes get big as she realizes what a treasure we've found.
Sharing any sort of berries I've picked myself. Even if I've picked them up off the table at the farmers market.
Sharing french fries with my husband. Especially when I said I didn't want french fries but he bought a bigger container because he knew I'd want just a few... or more than few.
Sharing any sort of ice cream with anyone. And knowing that people I love will ask me to share it.
Sharing limited-edition Oreos with my 13-year-old. We give the chocolate-chip mint flavor an A+.
Stealing a pair of surprisingly comfortable slide-on sandals from my 13-year-old. We are in a brief, magical moment in which his feet are the same size as mine. Soon, soon, he will be bigger, and the sandals will be mine.
Taking an early-morning walk (in the pair of surprising comfortable slide-on sandals I stole from my 13-year-old).
Taking a slightly later-morning walk (with the dog and one of my favorite neighbors).
Taking an after-dinner walk (with the dog and my husband).
Taking a walk late at night (alone).
Running into wildlife while on a walk. A bunny on the path. A flock of cedar waxwings in a tree. A beaver along the creek. A heron that bursts suddenly from the cattails. Frogs, anywhere.
Running into a cold river on a hot day. And being the first to get my head wet.
Running into people I love at the coffee shop. This is why I go to coffee shops. That, and the pastries, obviously.
Getting silly texts from people I love. Especially ice cream recommendations and Olympics memes.
Getting comforting texts from people I love. And knowing I'm not alone.
Getting hugs from people I love. And knowing how much I needed them.
Getting hugs from strangers. And being surprised by how much I needed them.
Being surprised by how good and kind and patient and caring people are, even when it seems like we all should have run out of steam by now.
Being surprised at how beautiful the world can look, even when so many things conspire against beauty.
Being surprised at how good a hard summer can be. ♦
Tara Roberts is a writer who lives in Moscow with her husband and sons. Her novel Wild and Distant Seas was published in January. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @tarabethidaho.
