The Beauty of Fleeting Things
A Song of Sweetcorn and Summer
It’s Sweetcorn Season in Iowa. This is that lovely couple of weeks every summer when sweetcorn is ready, and is a staple on our suppertable. My wife and kids were out of town last week, and I’m not exaggerating that I had sweetcorn every evening while they were away. And I didn’t even feel guilty about that—it’s a treat! Slathered in butter, with just a little salt…perfect! (Or, as I started this year, try a sprinkle of Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning along with the butter. It’s delicious!)
There is something beautiful about Sweetcorn Season, and I think it’s actually the fact that it is so fleeting. I look forward to seeing the beat-up pickup trucks with hand-painted signs that start showing up at the park in the middle of my small town, almost always during the last week of July. Sweetcorn for sale: $6/dozen. Sweetcorn Season has arrived! And we really only get it for two weeks (maybe three, if we’re lucky) each year.
And so, for those couple of weeks, I feast on sweetcorn.
Then, suddenly, almost so quickly that if you’d blink, you miss it…it’s all gone again. (Until next year, my delicious friend…)
I think summer feels that way in general for many educators. We love our work, true. But we also look forward to (and even long for) the different rhythm of summer. And the delight of the difference punctuates the joyfulness and beauty of the summer season, even though it’s fleeting.
Kind of like Sweetcorn Season for me: it’s not that I dislike the other produce I enjoy throughout the year…but I do look forward to those few different weeks where my dining takes on a different “normal” for a time. The fleeting nature makes me sometimes think, “Oh, just a few more days of this…wouldn’t that be lovely?”
But the fleetingness is part of the loveliness, I think.
It’s not that different from my feeling about summer break. The fleetingness is what makes it a lovely season.
Dave’s Faves
Here are three things I’m absolutely loving right now that I hope you might love too…
Dave’s Fave #1: Tapioca Fruit Salad
Time for another recipe from Dr. Dave! This is my very favorite fruit salad. I know it looks kind of weird, but it is also tropical, sweet, and absolutely delicious.
Here’s the ingredients:
One can (11 oz.) of mandarin oranges
One can (15 oz.) of pineapple tidbits
Two bananas
Two packages (3 oz.) of cook-and-serve tapioca pudding
1 1/2 cups of mini marshmallows
And here’s what to do:
Drain the juice of the oranges and pineapple into a large measuring cup. Add enough water to the juice to make 3 cups of liquid.
Transfer the 3 cups of liquid into a saucepan and stir in the pudding mix. Cook over medium heat and stir often until the pudding thickens. (Little balls of tapioca will start to form, and it will begin to gel up overall.)
While you let the pudding cool for a few minutes, slice up the bananas.
Once the pudding has cooled, stir in the oranges, pineapple, bananas, and marshmallows.
Chill in the fridge, and enjoy!
Dave’s Fave #2: “Hello My Old Heart” by the Oh Hellos
If I were to make a prediction of what my most-played song for 2023 is going to be, I will venture “Hello My Old Heart” from the Oh Hellos 2011 EP, aptly titled The Oh Hellos EP. Musically beautiful, lyrically rich, and lovingly performed by this sibling duo, it is currently my favorite song. This being the case, I now gift it to you…
Give it a listen, and then listen a second time with the lyrics in front of you: Hello My Old Heart. It’s enough to choke me up.
Dave’s Fave #3: Library Apps + Audio Books
This summer I was introduced to three apps made available to me through out local public library. (Shout-out to my daughter, who works at the library, for kindly giving me the nudge!) I don’t know why I never took the time to download them before, but boy am I glad that I have! I listen to plenty of podcasts while biking or walking the dog, but I’ve reached the point in the summer where I’m caught up on back issues of all my regulars, and instead of starting in on a new podcast, I’ve started listening to audiobooks through the library instead.
The apps I have access to are Libby, Hoopla, and CloudLibrary. Each has it’s own strengths, but they all work relatively similarly, and get me access to both ebooks and audio books that I can check out and download to my phone for two weeks at a time. (And, you know, for free…which is the best price of all for this middle-aged dutchman!)
As a result, I’m reading more for pleasure this summer than I have…since before starting grad school in 2013! Some of my favorites from this summer were C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength), Tara Westover’s memoir Educated, and the one I’m currently reading, When Breath becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi.
If you’d like to see more of what I’ve been reading this summer, I’m leaving short reviews on my Instagram. You can check them out at @drdavemulder.
The Last Word!
Summer is flying, friends. If you are an educator, I hope you can lean into the beautiful fleetingness of the last few weeks of the summer season, even as you begin to shift your thinking and behavior back towards the “regular” of the school year.
May you feel energized, empowered, and excited for the new thing that is about to begin as you prepare for the beginning of the new year! If possible, see if you can set aside an hour to find a quiet place to rest and reflect on the fleeting nature of summer, and the beauty that is in fleeting things. After all, sunsets, rainbows, and even flowers—all remarkable for their beauty—are notably fleeting. Perhaps part of the joy and wonder is simply that: we know that beautiful things do not always last…but this does not diminish the beauty in the slightest!
Grace and peace to you all as you celebrate the beauty of fleeting things.
Ah sweetcorn season! That's a Manitoba thing too. And yes a good analogy to the "fleetingness" of summer. Almost time to head back!