I love to read your musings - they are incredibly thought provoking and I always feel so seen and heard and in agreement with you on many levels! I, too, suddenly realize the solstice has come again and I've done nothing in terms of pomp and circumstance. This year my excuse is a busy schedule with two little kids to drive around to their respective places for the day, an all too long task list at home and at work, and so many other things needing all of me, that "me" feels so far away sometimes. On my dream solstice, I will wake with the sun and stay up way past the sun goes down, to fully embrace every ounce of daylight. Today, I simply woke up with my toddler at my side, well after the sun crested the horizon. Your post inspired me to try to think of one small thing to do today to celebrate, so I will figure that out! Until next time!
Thank you, Britt! I’m grateful my writing helps you feel seen and heard. Your dream solstice sounds lovely. And I think it’s something that we are observing it all, noting that it’s coming or has come. No observation too small! I hope you found a way to celebrate that felt right for you in this time. 💙
I think gifting solstice-bouquets is such a gorgeous and solstice-y thing to do!
So much of how you feel resonates with me. I so wish that the celebrating/recognising of these markers was already woven in to the fabric of my culture, so that it was a shared load and simply second nature to be gathering and eating and offering, together 🌻
(Instead, my country has national holidays for a football grand final, and horse racing 😣)
Thank you, Rebecca! The bouquets were gone by 11am, and I live on a quiet road. So I think that was a success. It certainly brought me joy.
I love how you phrase it: you wish celebrating these holidays was a shared load and second nature. Yes! Exactly that! I don’t want to be responsible for instigating a festivity all on my own. Oh if only people got as excited about the longest day of the year and the beauty of the living world as they did about football. :/ They have before, long ago, so maybe someday they will again. 💙
Gifting flowers to your community was such a simple and beautiful way to mark the spirit of the Summer Solstice, Ema. The word I (mentally) use for such acts is "improvised ritual devotion". I love the word Lindsey used, "solitary celebrations". With my brain, if I make everything a THING then I am prone to procrastination and avoidance. This year, our summer solstice celebrations were all simple and improvised that morning, based on our schedule, moods, and what we had readily available at home. Very similar to what you did with your bouquets! In the morning my daughters and I made cyanotypes. In the afternoon, I spent a few minutes alone making a sun tea from herbs I grew in my garden. Then in the evening, all four of us hiked to the top of the tallest hill near us and sat on a blanket reading books and toasting with Martinelli's (sparkling juice) while we watched the sunset.
But all that said, I've settled into this rhythm because I do host community gatherings on the cross-quarter days. A long held desire that has been so healing and fulfilling to realize. Your vision for a Midsummer gathering sounds like a dream to attend! And I trust that when the season is right, you'll bring this beautiful vision to life. Sending lots of love and solstice blessings your way, dear friend! ☀️
“Improvised ritual devotion.” Love it. That’s a great term. And how beautiful that you made cyanotypes with your girls! Reminds me I have a kit I still haven’t tried. How did yours turn out? Your observance of the solstice this year sounds so lovely.
The cyanotypes were from a kit Sage got for her 5th birthday (over a year ago!) that we had never gotten around to trying. So you're in good company there! They turned out so well - only one was underexposed. We did the whole process for 4 together before sister squabbles cut us short, but I count that as a win!
I love that you set out flowers for people - how caring and sweet! It definitely would have made my day if I had walked by ♡ As for solstices, I acknowledge them but also would like to celebrate! I actually kind of mourn on the summer solstice and celebrate on the winter because today marks the slow evaporation from the daylight that I so desperately need. I basically crawl through November and December just to get to the solstice, which gives me hope that there will be light again ..... SAD is a very really thing for me, and I think the solstices really just highlight how much daylight impacts my daily life? Anyway, I would have loved to celebrate (and mourn?) with you today!
Thank you, Katy! I must admit, I get very exciting when I catch someone taking flowers. It’s amazing to see their reactions. Like, “Oh, for me?!?”
That’s very interesting, your perspective of the summer solstice. I’m sorry you live with SAD. I think I have it in reverse—my mood lowers in the sweltering summer months. I love that you’ve realized your particular relationship with the solstices. Absolutely open to celebrate and mourn all at once; sounds like a healthy balance. 💙
Oh Ema, I love your bouquets! What a sweet way to celebrate solstice, even while feeling that disappointment and like there could be more. Solstice snuck up on me this year and I apologized to my kids that I hadn’t had time to get them solstice gifts (usually just small trinkets like chalk or bubbles) but my teen ran back to their room and brought out candy for everyone. 💞 I was also able to make bread in the afternoon and I threw in some fresh dill from the garden which made it feel extra special and had a few friends over for an art night. I think what you said about ritual/celebration does ring true, although I wonder if there can be group rituals and solitary celebrations too? One thing I’ve been trying recently is “calling in” when I’m doing a ritual or just setting aside time to pray or honor a season. I wonder if in solitary times it would feel good to “call in” the elements, the spirits of your land and place, the ancestors you feel close to, and even friends who can’t join you because of time or geography? A sort of “gathering” in its own way. Sending you blessings & fond solstice regards from afar. 💖
I love the idea of solstice gifts, and that your teen improvised. That’s so sweet. I think you’re right about group rituals and solitary celebrations. I suppose I am just yearning so much for less solitary-ness. I love the idea of calling in though. I’m making a note about that in my planner to come back to, hopefully make a practice of it. 💙
I love to read your musings - they are incredibly thought provoking and I always feel so seen and heard and in agreement with you on many levels! I, too, suddenly realize the solstice has come again and I've done nothing in terms of pomp and circumstance. This year my excuse is a busy schedule with two little kids to drive around to their respective places for the day, an all too long task list at home and at work, and so many other things needing all of me, that "me" feels so far away sometimes. On my dream solstice, I will wake with the sun and stay up way past the sun goes down, to fully embrace every ounce of daylight. Today, I simply woke up with my toddler at my side, well after the sun crested the horizon. Your post inspired me to try to think of one small thing to do today to celebrate, so I will figure that out! Until next time!
Thank you, Britt! I’m grateful my writing helps you feel seen and heard. Your dream solstice sounds lovely. And I think it’s something that we are observing it all, noting that it’s coming or has come. No observation too small! I hope you found a way to celebrate that felt right for you in this time. 💙
I think gifting solstice-bouquets is such a gorgeous and solstice-y thing to do!
So much of how you feel resonates with me. I so wish that the celebrating/recognising of these markers was already woven in to the fabric of my culture, so that it was a shared load and simply second nature to be gathering and eating and offering, together 🌻
(Instead, my country has national holidays for a football grand final, and horse racing 😣)
Thank you, Rebecca! The bouquets were gone by 11am, and I live on a quiet road. So I think that was a success. It certainly brought me joy.
I love how you phrase it: you wish celebrating these holidays was a shared load and second nature. Yes! Exactly that! I don’t want to be responsible for instigating a festivity all on my own. Oh if only people got as excited about the longest day of the year and the beauty of the living world as they did about football. :/ They have before, long ago, so maybe someday they will again. 💙
Gifting flowers to your community was such a simple and beautiful way to mark the spirit of the Summer Solstice, Ema. The word I (mentally) use for such acts is "improvised ritual devotion". I love the word Lindsey used, "solitary celebrations". With my brain, if I make everything a THING then I am prone to procrastination and avoidance. This year, our summer solstice celebrations were all simple and improvised that morning, based on our schedule, moods, and what we had readily available at home. Very similar to what you did with your bouquets! In the morning my daughters and I made cyanotypes. In the afternoon, I spent a few minutes alone making a sun tea from herbs I grew in my garden. Then in the evening, all four of us hiked to the top of the tallest hill near us and sat on a blanket reading books and toasting with Martinelli's (sparkling juice) while we watched the sunset.
But all that said, I've settled into this rhythm because I do host community gatherings on the cross-quarter days. A long held desire that has been so healing and fulfilling to realize. Your vision for a Midsummer gathering sounds like a dream to attend! And I trust that when the season is right, you'll bring this beautiful vision to life. Sending lots of love and solstice blessings your way, dear friend! ☀️
Aw, thank you, Stevie! 💙
“Improvised ritual devotion.” Love it. That’s a great term. And how beautiful that you made cyanotypes with your girls! Reminds me I have a kit I still haven’t tried. How did yours turn out? Your observance of the solstice this year sounds so lovely.
The cyanotypes were from a kit Sage got for her 5th birthday (over a year ago!) that we had never gotten around to trying. So you're in good company there! They turned out so well - only one was underexposed. We did the whole process for 4 together before sister squabbles cut us short, but I count that as a win!
I love the improvisation and the “devotions” 💗
Yes, this year caught me by surprise and the improvisation of it made it special in its own way.
I love that you set out flowers for people - how caring and sweet! It definitely would have made my day if I had walked by ♡ As for solstices, I acknowledge them but also would like to celebrate! I actually kind of mourn on the summer solstice and celebrate on the winter because today marks the slow evaporation from the daylight that I so desperately need. I basically crawl through November and December just to get to the solstice, which gives me hope that there will be light again ..... SAD is a very really thing for me, and I think the solstices really just highlight how much daylight impacts my daily life? Anyway, I would have loved to celebrate (and mourn?) with you today!
Thank you, Katy! I must admit, I get very exciting when I catch someone taking flowers. It’s amazing to see their reactions. Like, “Oh, for me?!?”
That’s very interesting, your perspective of the summer solstice. I’m sorry you live with SAD. I think I have it in reverse—my mood lowers in the sweltering summer months. I love that you’ve realized your particular relationship with the solstices. Absolutely open to celebrate and mourn all at once; sounds like a healthy balance. 💙
Oh Ema, I love your bouquets! What a sweet way to celebrate solstice, even while feeling that disappointment and like there could be more. Solstice snuck up on me this year and I apologized to my kids that I hadn’t had time to get them solstice gifts (usually just small trinkets like chalk or bubbles) but my teen ran back to their room and brought out candy for everyone. 💞 I was also able to make bread in the afternoon and I threw in some fresh dill from the garden which made it feel extra special and had a few friends over for an art night. I think what you said about ritual/celebration does ring true, although I wonder if there can be group rituals and solitary celebrations too? One thing I’ve been trying recently is “calling in” when I’m doing a ritual or just setting aside time to pray or honor a season. I wonder if in solitary times it would feel good to “call in” the elements, the spirits of your land and place, the ancestors you feel close to, and even friends who can’t join you because of time or geography? A sort of “gathering” in its own way. Sending you blessings & fond solstice regards from afar. 💖
Aw thanks, Lindsey!
I love the idea of solstice gifts, and that your teen improvised. That’s so sweet. I think you’re right about group rituals and solitary celebrations. I suppose I am just yearning so much for less solitary-ness. I love the idea of calling in though. I’m making a note about that in my planner to come back to, hopefully make a practice of it. 💙