a meager post after a shamefully long absence

Summer: A list

A teenage boy riding a bike with a towel over his shoulder.
Tan little girls wearing skirted bathing suits in line at the local ice cream shack, once called Dick and June's.
Sticky picnic tables at Woodmans.
Eating sandwiches at the kitchen table while wearing a wet bathing suit and a towel.
When the wind shifts and I can smell the ocean.
The drum of moths against the screen.
Time for the morning newspaper and donuts.
Riding bikes in the driveway.
Outdoor showers.
Naps (this is all year, but particularly satisfying in the summer)
Listening to my cousin play the cello, and between songs, listening to the rain.
My daughter learning the words "sand castle."
Tan lines.
Brushing sand out of my bed at night.
The quiet rumble and lull of the distant train whistle. My favorite sound in the universe.
The twenty three bug bites that prove I spent two weeks in the country.