While I’m on the road I’ve asked two of my favourite bloggers to help fill in for me, and today I’d like to introduce you to Nora from WalkingWithNora.com. Nora is currently counting down the days to a summer full of travel and grad school finals- she’s heartfelt and honest, and definitely one of the good ones.

In just a few weeks’ time, it will be Memorial Day weekend in the States, a three-day holiday weekend for most Americans. For me it signifies the start of summer, the promise of late nights sipping wine next to the pool, ignoring my bedtime and thus my alarm clock, planning weekend road trips and getaways, and soaking up the rays (while wearing SPF 40). While the lovely and Kyla and Mister are on their Road Trip 2010, I thought today I spend a few minutes talking to you about summer and what it means to me.

– Rekindling Friendships. After months of being couped up in houses cozied up to the fireside or under a pile of blankets, there’s no better time for me and the gals to bond all over again. St. Louis is fortunate to host several fabulous festivals over the next few months for jazz, food, Shakespeare, African culture and much more, many of which are free. My weekends will be filled with trips to wineries, poolside chats, and summer twilight nights spent on wine bar patios chatting, remembering, snapping photos and enjoying each other’s company, winter coat free.

– Wine & Words. My “to be read,” pile is 50 books strong and growing. As a middle schooler I made a summer reading stack and vowed to get through the books over the course of my three months off. Even though I no longer have 90 glorious days of freedom, I continue this tradition; my sideboard is stacked 10 books high just begging to be dog-eared, paged through, tatterred and torn up (I tend to carry my books with me everywhere I go, even in my purse). In the last few years I’ve taken my reading habits outdoors to the rocking chairs on the front porch during rainstorms, or the cherry wood patio furniture next to the pool. If I’m lucky I have a glass of wine in hand and mellow out for a few hours, getting lost in the lands of the characters and plots.

– Lazy Weekends. We’re talking sleeping in until 10, lazing about in the PJs even after I’m awake, checking out garage sales, long strolls with Jack, sitting pondside watching the ducks and geese flap about, taking advantage of the rainy days to catch up on movies and the Netflix queue, write letters, and sort through the stuff that was accumulated over the winter. These weekends are work-free and school-free zones.

– Festivals, Patriotism & Baseball. Now that I’ve been in St. Louis as an adult for the last five summers, I have little rituals that last throughout the hot, hot days. Rituals like attending the Shakespeare Festival to enjoy the play of the year which involves grabbing a slice of lawn, some friends and a shareable picnic. Spending Independence Day on the lake with rum punch and food, fireworks and saluting the red, white and blue. Friday nights at the free summer concert series under The Arch along the Mississippi river, Saturday mornings at the zoo with the penguins, and of course, taking in a few baseball games both semi-pro and MLB.

I’ve learned how to balance feeling like a kid with no-school for the summer with the professional adult I must be Monday-Friday at the office. I’ve learned to embrace the extra hours of daylight, time with friends and families, the little moments that make us laugh, make us smile and remind us what life is all about.

Now that I’ve shared my summer plans, tell me, what does summer meant to you?

Any rituals or summer-centric plans you look forward to each year?