Summer flavour
Temperatures are convincing everyone around here: summer has arrived, no matter what the calendar says. My mind rushes through her own backup and finds a few warm moments in memory.

My favourite one is walking down an avenue in Madrid, the eighties in bloom, I’m about ten years old, with my teenage sister, getting our paper work done. It’s June. We’re registering for our classes next year, but I’m still in the old school and siz is already in high school. We’re visiting a friend of hers. He’s wearing black jeans and a coloured t-shirt, 80’s pattern. The sun tickles my arms. Traffic is a distant soundtrack to their conversation. I’m thinking I want to be exactly like them when I finally make it to high school. I’m also thinking it’s great that public pools are open already. And that I’d love an apricot right now.

Other summer mind kodaks include:

Riding our bikes with LovelyV, summer of our fourteen year old lives, following a white trail on the pavement that took me straight into other rider's face. Ouch.

Coming out of the public pool i used to hang out in with my sister. The feeling of burning dry cement under my wet feet. Circa 1987.

School finishing at 1, instead of 4. The idea of time stretching took shape there and then.

Last summer, taking over the Mountain Family House, cooking huge dinners and walking the Mountain Family Dogs every morning.

September summer bringing us the local town fiestas. This was back when i lived a mere 20 km. from Madrid, when being 18 years old was all one needed to know about life. Drinking whisky and coke from a shared glass. Taking endless tours around the fiesta site. Learning how fun and headaches combined perfectly well.

Honeymoon at the rocky island. Snorkeling while long dark fishes dance under my belly. Pablo blushing for undisclosed reasons at the hotel pool. The dry heat coming out of the rented car whenever you opened the door.