Summer Nights With Fireflies

In peak July, millions of fireflies light up the field behind our home, flickering and dancing. Sometimes they’re slow dancing and sometimes they’re having a rave. We have a fence, but you can see them from our windows or have an overhead view from our upstairs office. I could stand and watch those fireflies for hours; they’re mesmerizing. They make me feel quiet & safe, like the world has slowed down in the best way.

When I watch the fireflies, I think it takes me back to childhood when summer nights stretched for hours with no responsibilities and no early toddler wake-ups to make me regret my choice to stay up late. It makes me feel light, like I could skip around trying to catch the fireflies in a jar only to quickly release them so they could keep enjoying their freedom. They take me back to a 90’s type childhood, one with space, freedom, and friendly neighbors close by. And I think they remind me how small I am because, though I am much bigger than them, they exist without me and my meddling, and I just get to enjoy watching them. And together they create a rave almost on par with the bracelets from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, an embodied experience that I feel a part of.

So all summer I sat on my patio watching the number of fireflies increase each week, waiting for their pinnacle week. Whenever I had a friend over at night, I showed them the fireflies, even in early summer when only a few lit up. Magically, you can’t record them. Believe me, I’ve tried. You can’t see them in videos or photos taken by a normal iPhone camera kind of person, so if I want someone to experience it, they have to be at my house so we can experience it together. It reminds me that the best things in life must be experienced in person, not through a screen, and ideally with something else.

I’ve thought a lot about these fireflies. I look forward to them all year and decided that I wanted to celebrate this moment because it matters to me. I considered a big backyard bash, but we were potty training at the same time, so instead we invited our friend Lex over because she finished grad school and Eli got a new job. We watched the fireflies for a few minutes like our own personal light show before building a small bonfire and sipping champagne.

It would be easy to miss these fireflies if we never looked over the fence or if we never slowed down enough to just notice and enjoy. But I want to live my life noticing the beauty around me and living in awe of it. I don’t want to rush around. I’ve been reminding myself (when I can) thanks to Kate Strickler of Naptime Kitchen that “I’ve got nothing but time.” So watch the fireflies. Walk at a toddler’s pace. Help with the craft. Say yes to the splash pad. Make the friendship bracelets.

Wait, that’s Taylor.

Still counts. Let’s agree to not move so quickly that we forget to notice the truly wonderful things around us. And if you want to come watch the fireflies with me next summer, please do.