Nostalgia for Mid-Western Summer

I came home this afternoon, after being out all day soaking up the sun, to a darkened, quiet room. At 6:15 in the evening, my roommate was taking a nap. So faced with the decision of twittling my thumbs silently in a morgue-like environment, or venturing outdoors again, of course i chose the light. Shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well. Sunlight is like my source of oxygen. I was always this way- as long as i can remember. So I put on a just a sundress and sat on the porch outside. Miraculously warm for the desert climate in late afternoon, i felt the cool breeze blow under my dress and across my bare skin and was instantly reminded of the midwestern summmers of my childhood.

Growing up in a cornfield is an experience i rarely look back on with any kind of fondness, except maybe in the context of: "Man, I am so glad i got out of there!", but i do remember the summmers with a sweet nostalgia that aches in the deepest recess of my heart at times.

After playing outside all day, I would stay out until the very last ray of sun dipped down over the cornfields, until everything was painted in the glow of dusk and the world went perfectly still. I felt like i was in a fairy tale world. I would watch the shades of blue morph into each other until everything in sight faded into the indistinguishable gray of night. And then, just as the day was losing to night, the crickets would start in a simultaneous symphony of sound, as if someone had flipped a switch. Just then the fireflies would light up the night sky like little magical fairies, and the night would come alive. It would be quite some time until the fully array of stars were visible, but i do remember, after being forced in by the mosquitos, coming back outside to admire the quiet night sky. And how, even at a late hour, the air was warm and pleasantly sticky. I would sit on my porch with the sparsest of clothing and bare feeet and let the breeze blow through my toes, feeling completely warm. God i miss that feeling! Sometimes i would walk through the tall grass in my bare feet or lay on my back and try to name the constellations or just soak up the milky way in the darkest of night in rural Illinois.