There is a particular kind of Florida morning that arrives only in June.
The air is already warm before breakfast, but still bearable. The afternoon thunderstorms have not yet begun. The sea oats along the dunes stand still, and for a brief moment the world feels slower than it will later in the day.
I have never been the type of person who arrives at the beach carrying half of her house. My beach bag is usually quite simple and, over the years, has become surprisingly predictable: a large towel or beach chair, a book I have been meaning to finish, a notebook because some thoughts seem to arrive only when I am near water, sunscreen (yes, I live in Florida), something sweet from the fruit bowl, and a cold drink.
Beside my small bottle of water, that drink lately has been Passion Fruit Red Clover Kombucha. Mango is a close second, but if I had to choose a winner, passion fruit would be it.
People often ask me what my favorite flavor is, but the truth is that I do not really have one. My answer seems to change with the seasons.
Every summer I find myself reaching for Passion Fruit again. Perhaps it is the heat. Perhaps it is simply because some flavors seem more at home in June than they do in January.
The older I get, the more I pay attention to these small preferences. They often seem aligned with something greater than my own reasoning. Long before nutrition labels and wellness trends, people ate according to the rhythms around them. The landscape changed, the harvest changed, and so did the table.
Whether that instinct still lingers somewhere within you, I cannot say for certain. But it may be worth paying attention to. What I do know is that every June, Passion Fruit Red Clover somehow finds its way back into my beach bag.
Years ago, a beach day often meant convenience above all else. Today, I find myself appreciating something different: preparing breakfast cake before leaving the house for me and my friends , the sound of glass bottles softly clinking together in the beach bag, and a few other simple things shared with people I enjoy.
Perhaps that is why I have grown so fond of June.
It arrives before the heaviness of late summer and reminds me that enjoyment does not require very much. A good book. The sound of waves. Time with a girlfriend . Something to snack on and a cold to drink.
The older I get, the more those things feel less like ordinary pleasures and more like quiet luxuries.
If you find yourself heading to the beach this month, I hope you bring something that helps you enjoy the season a little more fully.
June does not ask much of us.
Only that we notice it.
— Aneta
