I’m so glad Labor Day is late this year. Typically this holiday marks the unofficial end of the summer. But not in 2020. This summer will endure until its official end on Sept. 22. Period.
Summertime has been the antidote to COVID-19. We could almost pretend the pandemic was all a bad dream. We can visit with friends outside—never mind that we are all wearing masks. We can swim, and hike and bike and kayak. No matter that we can’t actually travel anywhere. Well, maybe to Cape Cod, if we’re lucky.
My family finally made a plan to spend a week on the Cape this summer. And when I say summer, I mean after Labor Day but before Sept. 22.
Summer is a state of mind. It’s supposed to be leisurely, and beachy and outdoorsy. Those of us who live in New England know what’s in store for the rest of the year. And, of course, we always love the autumn, arguably our best season. But if you’re a people person, fall this year means gradually saying good bye to in-person contact with our few friends who we actually managed to spend time with this summer. It means the return to those dreaded Zoom meetups.
Many of us have already purchased outdoor heaters. Presumably these will allow us to sit wrapped in blankets on our porches hopefully into November shivering with our friends, masked and six feet away.
One thing is for certain—we will never forget 2020 and probably not 2021 either. We are living in historic times and our lives will be forever changed.
But for now, summer of 2020, please don’t go. We need to squeeze every last drop out of you—you allow us to breathe, to socialize and to connect with the beauty of nature seen in trees, flowers, lakes, beaches and the sky. Don’t make us return to long sleeves and sweaters and boots and socks.
Stay, dear summer, just stick around. After all, in “Camelot,” “By order summer lingers through September.”
Summertime 2020, you are so ordered, by royal decree.
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