Yesterday afternoon I took my book and a glass of water with some lemon juice out to the back yard. I plopped down on our outdoor furniture under one of our trees, balanced the water glass somewhat precariously on the cool grass, and began to read.
After some enjoyable reading, my eyelids grew heavy, as I knew they would. I tried to fight the sleepiness by moving around, taking a few sips of the cold water, and squinting extra hard at the page before me. But — as the Borg would say — resistance was futile. My head nods became more and more pronounced. After a few feeble attempts at staying awake, the buzz of the insects, the heaviness of the warm air, and the coolness of the sun-dappled shade finally got me, and I drifted off.
After a time the tweeting of the birds, the bark of a dog, or the cry of one of the neighborhood kids — I’m not sure which — caused me to slowly surface from my slumbers. I’m not sure how long I dozed, but when I reached for my glass it was still cool and dotted with perspiration, and a tiny shard of ice cube floated on top. I crunched the holdout ice cube with pleasure, stretched until my old bones cracked, and went back to reading.
What better way to celebrate the pleasures of summer than falling asleep in the noonday sun, stretched out in close proximity to nature, feeling the warmth on your face and the drowsiness overcoming you?
Webner House 