Summer Bummer

I know this sounds blasphemous but I am really not that crazy about summer. I hate the heat and the humidity and every summer day seems to end with me feeling sweaty, tired, and cranky. I hate having to slather my and Vivi's fair skin with sunscreen or make sure we have hats on even though it's too bloody hot for hats. I'm no fan of winter either but summer seems to have edged it out as my least favorite season.

When I was a kid growing up in Vermont, I loved summer and all that it meant: the break from school, setting up a tent in our backyard, playing outside ALL DAY. Of course, I remember feeling bored sometimes but I don't recall ever feeling like I just couldn't wait for the heat to pass.

Now, as an adult, I don't feel like my life has slowed to a summer pace. I feel like I have as many responsibilities as I have the rest of the year except now I am doing them without central air. (Despite what W and his cronies all say, I really don't remember it being THIS hot when I was a kid.)

A couple of weeks ago, our family went to the beach. It was crowded, hot, and dirty. I am not a big swimmer and the waves scared Vivi so we sat under the umbrella and ate sandy watermelon. I spent the entire time stewing about how uncomfortable I was and wondering how the heck so many people could just lie out there and cook under the sun. My husband spent most of the time in the water but he ended up with a nasty sunburn on his back. We returned home and had to spend far too much time cleaning out sand from every inch of our bodies and beach paraphernalia. So much work for so little fun.

Probably on some deeper level, the heat reminds me of what a drag the Peace Corps was for me. Turkmenistan routinely got well into the hundreds in the summer and having neither air conditioning or a fan (not to mention a refrigerator), I routinely felt like I was on the verge of losing consciousness from the heat. When it gets hot here in Rhode Island, I immediately start to stew about how much my day is going to suck.

Maybe I need to work my heat aversion out in therapy. Until that time, you can find me and Vivi sitting together in the kiddie pool, under our maple tree, with the hose spraying directly on our heads. I'll get back to water conservation in September.

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