The Longest Day

 Eight years ago, on June 21, our son Matt sent an email “The Great Gatsby,”

"Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it?  I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."

Over the years, Matt occasionally resends the Daisy quotation and I usually realize I’ve missed the day.

But this year was different. On June 20 I searched and found that the summer solstice would arrive at 11:32 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. But which day would be the longest? Turns out three days straddling the solstice are of equal length: June 19th, 20th, and 21st. In Lexington on those days, sunrise occurred at 5:07 a.m. and sunset at 8:25 p.m. 15 hours and 18 minutes of daylight.

So Daisy actually had two or three days to succeed. She gave up too soon.

Here in Lexington, for the past several days, sunlight has streamed through the small octagonal front window every morning, my personal Stonehenge.

On Monday, after noticing the sunshine in the hallway,  I went back to bed and watched the sun traverse our northeast window. I closed my eyes and sunbathed. No sand, no heat, no sticky sunscreen, just pure sunlight on my closed eyelids. Luxurious. Restorative. Nourishing.