Winter in Michigan is no joke.

It is long. Gray. Cold in a way that settles into your bones. Some days feel like they stretch on forever.

We make the most of it. We always do.

There is plenty to love about winter here. Hunting season. Ice fishing when we can fit it in. Cooking over a fire even when there is snow on the ground. Trips to the Upper Peninsula when it feels like a true winter wonderland.

Michigan winters can be beautiful.

But summer is just different.

All winter long, I catch myself craving those days when I can go barefoot from morning until night. When the air feels warm even after the sun starts to set. When the only real plan is to be outside as much as possible.

Sarah and I are both teachers, which means summer gives us something we do not take for granted. Time. More time with JD and Jack. More mornings that are not rushed. More nights that do not end with alarm clocks waiting.

A lot of that time is spent at Lake Littlefield with our best friends Brent and Aspen.

We are lucky enough to keep our camper parked there all year long. That means when the weather finally turns, we can go whenever we want. No hauling. No big setup. Just pack a few things and head to the lake.

Canoes and kayaks are always part of the plan. The boys paddling. Swimming off the dock. Long afternoons that turn into campfires without anyone really noticing the shift from day to night.

Summer also means baseball.

We love evenings at the ballpark. Watching the Great Lakes Loons under the lights. The smell of popcorn. The sound of a wood bat. There is something about a summer game that just feels right.

JD plays travel baseball, which means a lot of our summer is spent at fields and stadiums. Early mornings. Long weekends. Folding chairs down the third base line. It is busy in the best way.

Baseball, lake days, and campfires all seem to run together. One long stretch of warm nights and dusty cleats.

This summer, I plan to take it a step further. I want to set out on a few overnight canoe trips down my favorite river, the Au Sable. There is something about that river that resets you. The slow current. The quiet stretches. Falling asleep to the sound of water moving past the bank.

And then there is the Upper Peninsula in the summertime. It is a completely different world when the snow is gone. Clear water. Long hikes. Roads that feel like they lead somewhere wild and untouched.

Michigan summers are one of a kind.

They are not flashy. They are not overdone. They are simple in the best way. Lake days. River trips. Ballgames. Campfires. Bare feet. Late sunsets.

All winter long, I miss the camper. I miss the lake. I even miss the long days at the ball field.

But maybe that is part of what makes it so good. The waiting. The longing. The appreciation when it finally arrives.

Michigan summers are something I plan on living for the rest of my life.

And until they get here, I will keep stacking wood, bundling up, and dreaming about bare feet, lake days, and nights under the lights at the ballpark.

-Justin