June 21st Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning and Happy Summer Solstice! Today is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Well, that’s not exactly correct, today still only contains 24 hours, but a majority of those 24 hours will be spent in the light, a little over fifteen hours of light. Here in New Jersey, the sun peaked over the horizon at 5:30, and it is not scheduled to set until 8:32. Then if you factor in the light before the sun rises and after it sets, it will probably come to closer to sixteen hours of light. Sure beats the sixteen hours of dark during the winter solstice!!

“Solstice” is derived from the Latin “sol sistere” which translates to sun stands still, and has been a day of celebration around the world, since the dawn of time. Also called Litha, Midsummer (which never made any sense to me because it is the first day of summer), and St. John’s Day, to name a few. For the most part, the celebrations celebrate the power of the sun. Well, except St. John’s day, which is a celebration of John the Baptist’s birthday.

Even if you do not celebrate any of these (which I don’t), today is the longest day, and hopefully you were blessed with a beautiful day like the one we are having here in Central New Jersey. So go outside, enjoy the extra hours of daylight, work on a project or simply read a book; but while you’re out there, you may want to take a moment to pause and be thankful for all our sun provides.

I hope you have a blessed day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Summer has finally arrived…

The whirl of the lawn mowers and weed whackers

The buzz of the bees, the chirping of the birds

Children’s laughter as they run through a sprinkler or splash in a pool

The smells of sunscreen, bug spray and citronella candles

The taste of potato salad, watermelon, and burgers hot off the grill

Hot days and air conditioned nights

Blue Italia ice stained lips, and fingers sticky from melting ice cream

Tan legs, freckled noses and sun-streaked hair

The crash of the surf, the cries of the gulls, salt water on your lips

Summer has finally arrived

I swear I did not intentionally hold off on this challenge so it would coincide with the summer solstice.

Your Next Challenge is (scarfed from my writing group):

If household objects had personalities.

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.