Hot Girl Summer Lives

Let’s talk about your Hot Girl Summer. Are you having one?

All over the internet people are posting about having a “hot girl summer,” the origin of which can be traced back to rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s new album “Fever.” She explains a hot girl summer is women – and men – being unapologetically them, just having a good-*ss time, having fun, being confident, living your truth, being the life of the party. Which got me thinking, as I was running around playing Monster with my boys at the neighborhood playground, am I (a 30-something year old mom of three) having a hot girl summer? And could a hot girl summer be achieved year-round?

I found myself daydreaming about my ideal life. If I could put my real life on hold, what would it look like? Surprisingly, it would not be in a city, not even in my beloved New York. And not in this country, actually. Most importantly, I found myself envisioning my ideal life that was more about a mindset than a place – specifically, a “hot girl summer” in somewhere foreign – one where I am being unapologetically me and just having a genuinely good-*ss time.

I don’t know about you, but I happen to like the summer version of myself more than my other seasonal moods. Although I’m generally a pretty optimistic person regardless of the temperature outside (even when I lived in Chicago, the dredges of Chi-town winter couldn’t keep me down), I’ve noticed I’m much quicker to abandon my RBF during the summer in favor of carefree smiles, enjoy more lazy time in the backyard with my boys, happy to stay for small chat with neighbors on the street (even the nosy ones), explore new areas of town and notice little things that had been in front of me all along, like that beautiful corner on campus away from the usual hub that I never realized was there until I decided to finally wander around aimlessly. Plus, with school being out for my kids in the summer, we’ve had a lot of sun-drenched, sticky finger lazy days that I find myself wishing I could bottle up so that this sense of wonderment could stay with me for the rest of the year. Yes, yes, I am having some semblance of a hot girl summer.

That’s why it was no surprise that a Portuguese summer, like that dreamy, poetic one we spent last August, was the first thing that came to mind when I pictured my ideal life – I’d be living in Lisbon perhaps, because it is cosmopolitan with just the right amount of old school romance. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s close enough for a weekend getaway to the Algarve. I pictured daily visits to the local fish market for fresh seafood and all the grilled sardines I can eat, riding the old yellow tram to cultural points, and lingering over pastéis de nata. We would stumble upon the sunniest alcoves with colorful beach umbrellas dotting the sand. There would be deliciously long, hot afternoons spent wandering and even hotter Lisbon nights on a rooftop listening to live Fado music. All with my kids, of course. Most importantly, I pictured the summer version of myself living there.

So, while everyone else is gearing up for pumpkin spice lattes and apple picking adventures, I’ll be here just daydreaming of how I can turn my hot girl summer into a lifestyle all year long. And living somewhere exotic? That’s just the cherry on top.

What does your ideal version of your life look like? Share it in the comments below!