Summer has always felt like a reward. Summer means more sunshine and more play, less school and work. While I write this, my three boys are running around the backyard enjoying the sprinklers during hotter than usual temperatures. Even at their young ages, they feel it. There isn’t as much of a rush in the mornings. If bedtime is missed by a few minutes, it’s okay. There are sweet murmurs of upcoming vacations and plans to see a highly anticipated movie. My husband and I feel it, as well. There is a conscious effort to make time, relax, dare I even say, unplug. Summer, with its endless hours of sunshine and warmth, affords so much possibility.

And maybe it is just my experience of being a teacher that leads me to be rather reflective in the summer. I naturally tend to reevaluate and reorganize, check in with myself and my goals. I think you’ll find the selections for this summer issue to be just that: personal reflections and evaluations. In “The Dream of Her Long Dying,” the death of a loved one is the central image as the narrator moves us through last moments and all the memories that surface when the end draws near. “Knitting” is a lovely stream of consciousness that highlights the natural rhythm of life marked by our hobbies and work. “Coverings” explores manners of dress, how they shape times and places in our lives, our maturity and innocence. “Child’s Play” is summer personified and what we learn about ourselves through those experiences.

I sincerely hope you enjoy our issue lying on the beach or while exploring a trail somewhere beautiful. Your couch will do in a pinch, too.

Elizabeth De Arcos
Senior Fiction Editor
The Citron Review