summer in the city

'summer in the city
means cleavage! cleavage! cleavage!
and i start to miss you
baby sometimes...

...and when it's summer in this city
and you're so long gone from this city
i starta miss you baby
sometimes'

- summer in the city, regina spektor

i suppose in the winter, snogging couple are harder to spot. people generally stay indoors, curl up to a warm fire or a cozy bar or couch somewhere. and when circumstance and obligation force them outside they are more focused on not falling on their faces on the ridiculous ice slicks than on holding mittened hands with their beloved. while there is certainly something to be said for the charm of seeing 'boys in the elements', as my dear friend likes to muse about wooly sweaters, knit caps, and the snow flakes stuck to dark eyelashes in the winter, summer is altogether *hotter*.

case in point: shirtless men jogging on the sidewalk. ummm, yum? most of them anyway. especially when you live in a college neighborhood and WORK at a university. they are everywhere. they are young and tan. i try to avert my eyes. sometimes.

and there are couples everywhere. everywhere. walking their dogs, riding bikes, running, draped together on towels at the beach, shopping. swarming at weddings, making out at the lakefront, looking adorable and glowy at church.

most of the time i smile about it. on a good day i can admit it's kind of cute. i want it too, of course, but it doesn't disgust me like it used to in the bitter days. i do rally all my strength to avoid comparing myself to every single sparely dressed woman who crosses my path - another trecherous threat to my enjoyment of the sweet season. the only reason anyone lives in chicago: summer in the city.

and then there is the missing.

got a text out of the clear blue sky last night from The Boy.
"jon stewart just used the word "snarky". fyi"

and when it's summer in the city, and you're so long gone from this city, i start to miss you baby, sometimes.