Longest Day of the Year

Our backyard at 10:30pm June 20th

It's 7pm and my two 5 year olds just went outside to play. Haven't even begun to think of making dinner. The sun is shinning like it is 12:45 in the afternoon; this has got all of us turned around and confused.

Today is summer solstice, the longest day of the year and it just seems a bit sweeter because we live in an area that is most usually cold and rainy. Tourists come to northwest England to go to Liverpool and live the Beetle's Experience or tool around County Cheshire looking at the ancient, bucolic scenery, but not for the weather.

I woke up last night thinking that I had overslept -- the sun was blazing in through my drapes-- what time was it? Disoriented, I reached for the clock, rubbed my eyes and saw that it was 10:30pm. What the...?

I know that I will pine for this intrusive light come December; for as sunny and bright as these summer days are, the winters are equally dark.