Ode to Summer

You know what I love about Summer?  Watermelon.  We always have watermelon in the house in summer.  We eat it at almost every meal.  It's cold, sugary sweet, fragrant, and lovely.  I love watermelon.

You know what else I love about Summer?  Cotton sheets.  I love to get into bed at the end of a warm day and slip between my cool, cotton sheets.  My feet get so hot in the summer that I look all over the bed for the coolest spot.  Once I've warmed a spot up I will go find another spot to lay my feet.  I love cotton sheets.

You know what else I love about Summer?  Warm, balmy nights.  The kids will get a bunch of friends together in our cul-de-sac and play night games.  If I am inside I can hear their feet running and pounding on the pavement as they try to hide from one another.  The occasional scream will ring out when someone is found or just surprised.  I love that I can sit outside on my porch and watch the stars and enjoy the end of the day.  I love warm, balmy nights.

You know what else I love about Summer? Cucumbers.  I love cucumbers.  Anytime I go into a restaurant and see that there are cucumbers on a sandwich or in something I will get it.  Cucumbers shout "Summer" to me. They are somewhat melon-y but not sweet and they taste like summer.  I love them on sandwiches, salads, pickled, with onions, anyway they are prepared I will eat them.  I love cucumbers

You know what else I love about Summer?  Daylight Savings Time. I know most people hate Daylight Savings time but for me it is awesome!  I grew up in Phoenix where we didn't have Daylight Savings Time because in Phoenix who wants another hour of heat and sun?  But here where it's not as hot and it cools down at night I love it.  There is more light for me to work outside, to go running in, to play badminton in the backyard with my kids, to eat BBQ on the porch.  I love Daylight Savings Time.

You know what else I love about Summer? Less clothing.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love clothes and shoes.  And in the summer there is just nothing better than a flowy, cotton skirt and a pair of sandals.  Or even better--flip flops!!  And shorts or capris.  Short sleeved, cotton shirts and blouses.  And the always present flip flops.  I never have a problem figuring out what to wear in the Summer.  I love less clothing.

You know what else I love about Summer?  Swimming.  I have always wanted an in ground swimming pool in my backyard.  It ain't happening.  But we have the Rec Center down the road, we have our white trash 18 foot blowup in the backyard, and we go to the lake as much as possible.  I love to feel the water surrounding my body, putting it's pressure on all sides.  I love floating on the surface, treading water in the deep parts, swimming under water and opening my eyes to see what's there. I love how exhausted I feel after a day in the water.  Tired but refreshed.  And then I sleep so well that night.  I love swimming.

To go along with swimming:  You know what else I love about Summer?  Being tan. I love getting tan.  I have no problems at all with it.  I have darker skin that accepts the sun like an old friend.  I wear 50-70 SPF and yet I'm still tan.  I feel healthy and more alive in the summer because of my tan.  When I look down at my feet and they are tan then I know my summer is complete.  I love being tan.

You know what else I love about Summer?  Gardening.  I have a very large garden and a very large yard.  I love going out there and putting my hands into the warm soil, planting tiny seeds and covering them with the requisite amount of dirt to coax little plants into living.  I love to go out every day and look at my flowers, vegetables, fruit trees and vines to see what they are doing.  I love to count how many pumpkins I have growing for the coming fall.  Each portion of the spring and summer different flowers bloom in their beds and I look forward to certain ones each year.  I even love mowing the lawn because I get to be outside that much more.  I love gardening.

You know what else I love about Summer?  Fresh corn on the cob from my garden.  I grow a super sweet variety that pops in your mouth when you bite into it.  I don't boil it, only steam it really and only for about 5 minutes.  Just enough to make it hot.  The first bite of home grown summer corn is almost orgasmic.  Every year I will take my first bite and exclaim, "OH. My. Gosh!"  It's so sweet, and so fresh, and so crisp that you never want to buy the stuff from the roadside stands.  I love fresh corn on the cob from my garden.

You know what else I love about Summer?  Crickets, no school, sleeping in, going on family trips, hiking, camping, jet skiing,  talking with neighbors outside, sharing the bounty of my garden, STORMS!!, BBQ's, and so much more but finally the end of summer.  September.

Things I hate about Summer?  My swamp cooler and August.  Combined they are hell on earth.

Summer.