An End-Of-Summer Checklist
By Thoughtis
1. Got way too sweaty at a concert.
2. Saw fireworks, preferably over a body of water.
3. Had that perfect, wavy, sea water hair.
4. Ate shellfish fresh from the shell, with maybe just a squeeze of lemon.
5. Barbecued every meat that Noah put on the Ark.
6. Spit watermelon seeds out onto a yard and felt, if for only a moment, like a badass.
7. Played kickball and loved that satisfying “phwook” sound it makes when you kicked it really hard.
8. Lifted your hands off the handlebars of your bike and briefly thought of that “I can ride my bike with no handlebars” song everyone forgot about.
9. Drank an iced coffee too slowly, until it was more like a glass of water with a little bit of coffee-flavor at the bottom.
10. Swam around in a pool, pretending to be a mermaid when you thought no one was looking.
11. Sat on a roof, drinking beer and watching the sun set behind the buildings, feeling like a living Instagram photo.
12. Wore white pants, and invariably got them messed up somehow.
13. Ate fried chicken, licking your fingers before wiping them on the grass.
14. Had a picnic, which was at least 30 percent spent killing/shooing away bugs.
15. Kissed someone just because the weather was beautiful and you were buzzed off a few cold drinks.
16. Caught fireflies, watched them waddle around your palms and light up their butts for a minute or two, and then let them go again.
17. Cut the corners of your mouth on some vicious freeze pops.
18. Hung out on a porch, sipping an iced drink, feeling like an old southern colonel of some kind.
19. Sat next to an open window when there was no AC, fanning yourself, feeling as though this is what hell is probably like.
20. Drank far too many margaritas, because they are so deceptively sweet — the Slurpee of Grown Ups!
21. Dreaded the moment that August comes, but were at least a bit relieved that the heat will soon be breaking.
22. Had ice cream melt all over your fingers, then licked it off.
23. Played Chicken in a pool and tried to rip someone else’s bathing suit off, also known as the only reason that game exists.
24. Drove on a long, open road with the windows down and music playing.
25. Watched a group of neighborhood kids play basketball, and root for whoever was wearing cooler shirts.
26. Had a brief relationship because you were both in the right place at the right time, and because of that seductive effect that way-too-hot summer weather tends to have on even the most stoic souls.
27. Spent an entire day outside, walking all over the city, stopping to smell the food grilling and listen to the screams of kids playing in a public fountain.
28. Fallen in love with a particular view that looks out onto a quiet, still body of water, where boats rock softly back-and-forth.
29. Took a nap in a hammock, the apparatus regarded by science as the most awesome nap-taking spot in the known universe.
30. Went on a spur-of-the-moment trip somewhere with friends.
31. Took cans of beer out of a big cooler perched on the back of a pickup truck.
32. Got really into the Olympics for about five minutes, if only for Tom Daley’s stomach.
33. Lost your mind completely about the Spice Girls.
34. Slept outside and saw so many stars that you had forgotten existed while in the city.
35. Looked forward to fall, to scarves and pumpkin everything, but felt already nostalgic about the summer that wasn’t even over yet.