Letters from the Divide: Summer Jump-start
Pam Houston offers suggestions on how to shake off winter.

Way back in January, amid mountains of snow and a startling wind chill factor, we couldn’t have imagined it was possible, but somehow summer has come back again. The days are long, blue, and sultry, and the nights are silken and short. The trees have gone all leafy and friendly again, and the flowers keep exploding into colors so bright they seem to be trying to tell us something; and even though we don’t know exactly what it is, it feels like they may have a point. It might be time for us to take them up on their suggestion and do a little blooming of our own. Following you’ll find seven ways I can think of to jump-start life and why summer is the best time to try them.

Take a roadtrip. First of all, you won’t freeze to death even if you forget something critical like a jacket or sleeping bag. There are lots of hours of daylight to drive in, and you can ride with all the windows open (which will please the dog you will acquire in number 3, mentioned later). The campgrounds all smell like s’mores, the restaurants have swept off their patios, the produce stands are open, and people have shucked their coats and hats and scarves and are ready to talk to one another. Festivals abound: bluegrass, jazz, folk, tomato, potato, sweet corn, Shakespeare, Renaissance, Medieval, the Indianapolis 500, the All Star Game, the Calgary Stampede. Pick one and make it your destination.

Volunteer for a political candidate. Tired of hearing the sound of your own voice complaining about the state of the world? This summer of all summers might be the time to grow into the political side of you that has been waiting for someone to ask you to join the conversation. Take a little time to get the facts and decide which candidate you might be willing to get behind. Make a phone call about volunteer opportunities. The guy you will meet in number 4 below will find it very sexy. Even better, you may find yourself empowered in an entirely new way.

Get a dog. Summer is the time to get outside and move your body, and there is nothing more motivating to get you away from your TV or e-mail and out into the sun than a puppy who needs to be worn out. Once the two of you are out there, let the puppy remind you to witness everything with all your senses: the new leaves on the cottonwood trees, the wild iris in bloom, the boot patterns of the walkers who have gone before, the shapes the clouds are making in the too-blue summer sky. Summer is also the best time for housebreaking—just leave that kitchen door open, and the puppy will get the idea faster than you think.

Break up with your commitment-phobic boyfriend. Let’s face it: he had his chance. And whatever the excuses (he’s waiting for a promotion, he can’t give up his rent-controlled apartment, you might get killed in a plane crash, he’s not very good with calendars, he’s unsure, even, who he really is . . .) his ambivalence is making you sad. You’ve got a good start on a tan, you’re getting your summertime calves, and it is finally warm enough to wear the polka dot miniskirt you bought on sale last fall. There is a smart and sexy man out there who will register your value faster than your old boyfriend can say, “honor my own growth process,” and he’ll turn cartwheels for the opportunity to prove it to you. Take the new guy on the roadtrip mentioned earlier.

Make a friend. You know that woman who shows up at the coffee shop about the same time you do every morning, always with a different and interesting novel tucked under her arm? So far you’ve talked about sugar in the raw, the frosted banana bread versus the plain, the weather, and your North Face guide pants. It might be time to ask her to join you and your puppy on a hike (see number 3). The worst she can say is no.

Quit your job. Think about it. Your utility bills are low; if the rabbits don’t get to the garden, you can live off zucchini in 47 different ways; and there are about 18 hours of sunlight each day with which to make fun. Think about what a better candidate for employment you will be in September, when your mind is clear from hiking three days a week, your skin is aglow with fresh air and activity, your body is strong and sure of itself after those two weeks of sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands, and your heart is at peace after three months of waking up each morning to no one’s agenda but your own. Who wouldn’t hire that girl?

Try something outrageous that you have always wanted to try. Skydive. Skin-dive. Take a sushi-making class. Book a trip to Turkey, or Tunisia, or Tibet. Run a marathon. Run a half marathon. Run a mile. Join Big Brothers Big Sisters. Join a book club. Join a band. Turn your garage into a studio, your lawn into a garden of native plants, your anger at your parents/children/spouse into a work of art. Buy a bicycle. Buy an inversion table. Buy $100 worth of Kiva funds and help someone else try something they have always wanted to try.