sun surf 50

Sun, surf, love?
Don’t be afraid of summer romance
By Isabella Ferreria
2009-05-13
Summer lovin’ had me a blast
Summer lovin’ happened so fast
Summer days driftin’ away, to uh-oh those summer nights
Uh well-a well-a well-a huh.
Tell me more, tell me more ...

Tell me more is right! Winter is gone, spring is well underway and the sun-kissed days of summer are lingering in the breeze just waiting to land in our midst. As I walked down the beach this past weekend it all flashed before me and I wondered — what will this summer hold? The excitement of adventures that I couldn’t wait to have, who I might meet, where that might take me and how it could change my life forever were as scary as the thoughts of beautiful days that might be spent all alone without a special someone to share it all with. How could the best, most beautiful, sandal wearing, sundress swinging season cause all this turmoil for me or anyone else?
Well, if life was like the movies, we would all find the perfect person and fall in love over the lazy days of summer. Not sure about yours, but mine haven’t quite worked out that way.
The knot in my stomach when it comes to summer is more from the endless breakups not the endless nights of romance. So many times it seems people (might be safe to say men!) go berserk when it comes to summer and suddenly need their freedom. I can remember going all the way back to junior high, all the girls knew it was a given that if they had a boyfriend about the time May rolled around then things were about to change. It was as if the hormonal calendar’s alarm would ring and all the boys would simultaneously break up with their sweethearts in exchange for the opportunities that summer might bring.
I’m sure back in those days it was much easier and acceptable to trade in your lunch room buddy for the excitement of summer freedom. But as we reach well into our 20s or maybe even our 30s should those same philosophies apply? I think if guys didn’t still think they should I wouldn’t still have this internal dread of what should be the best time of the year.
Maybe it’s that guys, like me, are just as afraid of experiencing something so good that could change the course of their lives. The more I think about it, the more I think this must be the case. Men try to be so logical and have time lines for everything. God forbid they meet the right person before they feel like they have experienced everything else, even if that everything else is nothing of value.
But love can’t and shouldn’t be timed. And summer is all about love! Walks or runs on the beach, minature golf, picnics or BBQs, baseball games, skinny dipping, sailing on the lake, sharing an ice cream and much more. If you meet the right person, who can help but fall in summer love? And if it’s real love it can be more freeing than any break-up you could ever have. It won’t be a sacrifice, it will be something that brings you even more new opportunities.
So despite the anxieties, don’t let this season go by without looking to those who could bring you true love. Heck, even John Travolta couldn’t resist summer love, so why should you?
Sometimes dating in Southern Maine just plain sucks. But just when you think you’ll never find “the one” here comes Isabella to give her take on how things can always be worse and why you should keep on trying.