Trapped Outside

Trapped Outside

            For the past three summers I have had the amazing opportunity to bartend at a beautiful outdoor restaurant on the lakeshore. As one can imagine this area draws a substantial amount of tourists longing to enjoy the sunset beaches and bonfire nights that Michigan in July is so willing to offer. Day in and day out people come and go with sun-kissed cheeks and wind-blown hair as if they had just climbed off the front of a cruise ship. 

         In many senses serving this cheery crowd is phenomenal. In many other ways you begin to feel trapped outside. People rush in and out to hear the acoustic band that is playing and to enjoy a margarita before sneaking off to the sunset. I find myself longing to reverse the roles. If only for an instance I was able to enjoy the warm breeze of the summer over dinner and cocktails with my family. Waiting on 25 or more people in 85 degree weather has a curious way of making you resent the heat and the summer. As I drip with sweat, longing, and the desire to escape into lake Michigan, everyone surrounding me is there to rub salt in the open wounds. 

       As the hours of the night rise, the sun sinks low into the horizon of Lake Michigan as if it is disappearing. Every year I tell myself I wont let the summer slip away again. Before I can blink the leaves are changing and the sun is sinking once again low into the October sky. Maybe next year.