Well folks, I did my best to stop it, but it's here anyway.
Just in case you haven't noticed, today is June 21st,
the most un-wonderful day of the year.
It's the first day of summer.
I hate summer.
Ok, maybe hate is too strong a word. I hate liver. Summer, on the other hand, is more like a green bean. I can stomach it, but I don't enjoy it. I just endure it until it's off my plate.
That's because I live in south Georgia. Do you know what summer looks like in south Georgia?
This.
With regularity.
As a younger woman, it didn't bother me. I was a school teacher after all. Summer meant two things: time off and tan on. (I was all about the suntan back in the day, and I have the wrinkles to prove it.) As a young mother, I enjoyed it even more. Summer meant adventures with the girls and lazy days by the pool. Yeah, summer was pretty cool back then.
Nowadays, it's just hot.
Nowadays, I look at the date on the calendar and the temperature on the thermometer and snort.
Here we go again...
Last summer, I tried to *fix it* by creating a Sand Pail List of activities to do while the heat was on. It was a pretty fun idea and worked well until the unfortunate debit card incident turned into No Buy July.
And just in case you've forgotten, there was August...
So here's the thing: While I was planning to do the whole Sand Pail List again, I have changed my mind. I'm fickle like that. You see, as I made that list, I started thinking.
I'm always thinking.
Was there a single adventure on that list that couldn't be done, and more pleasantly so, in the fall?
Why no, there wasn't.
I'm not teaching anymore, and the nest is empty. I have just as much time for adventure in the fall as I do in the summer, and I can do it all without sweat stains. If orange can be the new pink, and 50 can be the new 30, why can't autumn be the new summer?
I think I'm onto something here.
So this morning, I decided to dump the sand pail and leave summer fun to families with full nests. This year, I'm going to give myself permission to stay inside where the living is easy, and the temperature is a sweet 78.
I won't be taking on any huge indoor projects, either. This summer, I'm going to sweat the small stuff and work on all those little projects and crafts that have been banished to the back burner in the name of grand schemes.
True, it doesn't sound as fun as picking Georgia peaches or going on a riverboat ride, but it's still an adventure if you give it a name. That's the rule. I know because I made it up.
I'm calling it Sweat the Small Stuff Summer,
and the adventure begins today.
I'm calling it Sweat the Small Stuff Summer,
and the adventure begins today.
(OK, maybe Monday. I have something big to celebrate first.)
Can anyone relate?
Or am I the only one in Blogville
with summer bummer syndrome?
with summer bummer syndrome?
41 comments:
You are definitely on to something in my book. I hate the South Georgia heat, too. I was working on my next month to-do list and nothing appealed to me. I think maybe some simple things might be in order. I was considering canning some peaches. You could come along and just buy some instead of picking them. (I know picking peaches was on your list and you can't do that in the fall). Great idea Deb. Count me in.
BTW, happy anniversary to you and Sir Lotsa Hair this Sunday!! Have fun celebrating.
I live in Ohio and our weather is usually barely tolerable (much more tolerable than 104!!!). I had a rough summer with a very ill family member and spent last summer in hospitals and other less pleasant places. This year has brought another family member with severe health issues and I have spent the last 14 days shuttling an 83 year old woman on round trips to a hospital 1 hour and 45 minutes each way, not counting the road paving during what we call Orange Barrel Season.
I brought the family member home yesterday and I am still sitting her in my pj's at 11:53 a.m. today on the first day of summer. I LOVE SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!!! This is going to be my theme for Summer 2013, too!
I am joining you in Sweating the Small Stuff! My concern is going to be emptying the dishwasher, shredding the junk mail, reading the stack of books I keep meaning to get to and watching the weeds grow :) - I am totally ignoring the Big Stuff!
I love your writing style and you always make me laugh. Thanks for brightening my day.
Well, I have always been a summer girl - I think it's just the curse of being a California Girl. However, I have never had to deal with Georgia heat (and it's the humidity that's also brutal, right?)
Up here in my new mountain home it does get quite hot in the summer - 80's and 90's - but not humid. And it seems like there's a nice breeze most days. So, my challenge this summer is to get *out* in it! Last summer all I did was sit on a couch and pout (whine) about not wanting to be here. This year, I'm looking forward to doing some exploring and hiking. (Though the rattlesnakes are a bit of a deterrent - hubby has already caught one in the backyard - ahem).
Can't wait to see the *small stuff* that you dig your little hands into.
And yes, a big Happy Anniversary to you and your knight in shining armor.
xo
Se have 2 homes, MS and FL, both I think are hotter than Georgia but it keeps me busy. I hope you enjoy your summer!...Christine
Tennessee heat and humidity put me totally in agreement with you...looking forward to October here!
You just gave everyone and anyone permission to relax!
YEAH!
Oh Debbie I could have written every word of this! haha (shocker!) And I live in So. California where the weather is NOT hummid, the beach is near, and everyone has a swimming pool. Soo when I was young I LIVED for the summers. We (the kids and I) were NEVER in the house. We had a pool and if we weren't in there, we were bbqing, or down at the beach, or the mountains on the lake, or at Disneyland, Knotts, Sea World, Museums etc. and on and on. Now getting around is hard, and it is just plain old HOT out there, haha. We have LOTS and LOTS of days over 100, and it lasts well into OCT. some years. In fact, Sept. is the worse one of all. Sooo all of this to say, I too will be in MOST of the time. I intend to be making (are you ready for this?!) CHRISTMAS quilts and/or tree skirts as part of my kids gifts this year. I will venture out when I must trying not to complain too much that I am hot. (though to be fair I am always hot) I will probably hit the beach at least once so I can watch the grands run around and enjoy it, sit by the pool occasionally for the same reason, and that's about it. All of this to say I am totally on board with your plan, haha. LOVE it! Enjoy your week-end my kindred friend!
I think just about any activity or project is better in the fall, I am Miss Fall after all, just LOVE it. I do prefer indoors with a/c cranking on hot, humid, muggy days. Lots of indoor projects and crafts to work on. xo
Oh dear. I cannot relate. At all. Up here on the west coast of Canada, we long for summer. And we make the most of the shortness of it. Barbecues, swimming, hiking, sailing - being outdoors any chance we can get. And we always have a jacket or sweater at hand.
I've been in South Carolina in the summer and know a little of what you speak - stay cool, and don't forget to show us the little things you've done!
Oh this IS going to be fun IF you share those projects with us that is. It can be fun for you either way. When the day dawned cool and overcast, I started to whine about the sun that was promised for the first day of summer, then I realized what I was doing and slapped myself. I enjoy cool mornings, cool days, cool nights. So now the sun is out, the temp and, worse yet, the humidty are on the rise and I am already wishing for the morning back. I've decided that I'm just not happy no matter what. Ha!
Whatever you do, do enjoy your summer. It's the only one that you're going to have just like this one.
humidty? Some days I can spell humidity.
HAAAA! Oh Debbie, you just have to read my post today to realize we must be kin! I always struggle with summer but tried to look at the good things today with a "Praise God for Summer List".
But I do think you're on to something here and I intend to adopt your motto that "autumn is the new summer". Love that!!! And, as far as your "Sweat the Small Stuff Summer", I just have to say - You are the Queen of Great Ideas!
I love summer - but not the heat. I don't know exactly what it is I do like about it because it's horrible hot here in Texas too. I stay inside unless I am #1 In the pool or #2 just out of the pool sitting in the shade in front of a fan, when I dry out I go back to #1. But sometimes it actually gets too hot to even be in the pool.
I will join you in your have a relaxing summer club, now that our nests are empty. Great idea.
Summer can be... difficult, we get the heat and humidity in Philly too. I think we (especially those that have blogs) put too much pressure on ourselves to be doing "something". Enjoy your summer any way you'd like to:@)
what i dislike - heat with humidity ... so i totally get the hate issue. but i try not to use it often. but it sneaks in there some times. ha. ha!! ( :
you know i have never had LIVER ... what does it taste like? chicken? beef? or pork? i have had duck. alligator. many types of seafood.
I never was a big lover of summer. I tend to wither in the humidity. However, as I get older, I don't hate summer quite as much as I used to. Maybe because I've finally come to realize summer in NY is incredibly short!
The only people who dig summer are up north. Our winter is their summer, that is when everyone comes out of their air conditioned houses here in Florida to see if we all survived the summer LOL! I am still at the ignore it stage, I go on about my life like it is not hot, still walk every morning and night and sweat like a pig and dream of the fall when I love the weather and everyone starts complaining about the snow!
Carol
I'm with you! Not a fan of hot and humid weather! Though the tomatoes seem to love it!
I don't have an empty nest yet, so there will be times in the pool at my parents house (Camp Geezer, my Dad calls it!), and some adventures to be had. But I'd rather head out for activity in the Autumn.
Start a club, I'll join!
Deanna
I have forgot how much I love love love your writing. You keep me reading. You write bank on. I never like the hot days of summer but I love that my girls are off school and we get to hang out more. Grateful their teens and still like doing that.
Debbie....stay cool.....stay true to you. :)
You're definitely on to something! I'm not a big fan of heat either, so I like to spend summers inside as much as possible. Funny thing... I'm not creative enough to "name" my Summer plan, but I am tackling some of those MANY little things that I've left undone for too long. In fact, this very day, my blogging/laundry room-turned-"catch-all" room must find some order. Not one more day can go by. Renaissance Man is out of town, so I'm on my own schedule -- which means I have no excuses!
Can't wait to hear about all the "cool" things you get into. Maybe a few will even involve Mod Podge. ;-)
I like summer, but not LOVE..I would take Fall anytime of year all year long here. Speaking of liver, my teenager decided to try it for the first time this week, WHY? Here we were out to eat, and he orders LIVER. It was utterly disgusting and looked like a big pile of you know what on his plate. That boy choked down half of it though because I taught him no waste LOL! Stay cool Debbie. XO
Debbie, this is a great, funny post in classic Debbie style. :) You're singing to the choir with this one. I really try not to dislike summer, because I have so many happy memories of it from days gone by. I also have the aged spots on my skin to show it. :( Like you said, it was extra special when our children were young because there were so many adventures.
I do stay inside a lot in the summer, I'm sorry to say. Last summer was so dreadfully hot, and I have asthma (developed as an adult) so I have to be careful on those high ozone level days. But yesterday was the most perfect weather day here, and my husband and I enjoyed a walk with MacDuff in the evening and the long daylight was so nice.
I will have to say that if I lived further south like you do, I would definitely be bummed by the summer. That kind of heat and humidity just drains all our energy and good temper, doesn't it?
Love this post and hope you have a great weekend!
Hugs,
Denise
I'm totally on board with you, Debbie! I'm not afraid to admit that I hate summer either. The summers in Texas are brutal. I'm not happy until maybe October, but November is better. Here's looking forward to Fall...cheers!!
I'm with you Debbie! We're in south Texas....past week has been in the mid to upper 90's with 400% humidity!!! I put up with it when I was younger and the kids were home but now.....YUK!! I'll be inside "piddlin" on stuff til September rolls around! Wonderful post!!~~Angela
I am with you on this one....it has taken me awhile to realize we didn't have to have our adventures in the summer anymore...the nest IS empty. (however many times our activities are dictated by what son's family is doing) Right now we have had a "delayed" summer, temps still pretty mild for this time of year, but once those temps start hitting the 90's, I mostly be inside enjoying the air conditioning.
Raising my hand too. Although I live in Michigan and most people think we wear mittens 11 months out of the year it get hot and humid here too. Today will be in the low,90's with lots of humidity so I think I'll adopt your summer plan this year Debbie...sounds good to me.
Happy, Happy Anniversary, Debbie. Hope you and Sir Lotsa Hair have a cool front blow in especially for you!! blessings ~ tanna
Well I'm in N.GA and the summers having been getting worse every year so I can imagine what S.GA is like!
I'm not looking forward to August!
Debbie - I tell you what - I am in north Georgia and I HATE SUMMER TOO -it is just like in the north when they have winter and stay in. I just feel so uncomfortable - we are two peas in a pod when it comes to this.
sandie
It's been foretold that our first 100 degree day of this summer will be here this weekend! Until then I'm good with it, love the 80s and 90s.
So I'm catching up, before and after, and you can spend hours cleaning up those pix, and it's free! I need to do the same. Also I'm pink with envy over those bridesmaid dresses. You were a blushing, beautiful, bride. I think all the ruffles and foof were fabulous. Hope your anniversary was awesome yesterday. Congratulations on another great year Debbie!
You have a winner lady! I am learning to make that mental shift. Just last night we realized we were empty nesting for the week and I didn't have to cook, didn't have to do anything I didn't WANT to do. Yeah....so I too am sweating the small stuff this summer. Enjoy yourself.
Autumn has long been my summer, especially since I'm a Floridian. When everyone is celebrating the arrival of summer, I'm frowning at the thunderstorms and the approach of hurricane season, not to mention humidity that can wilt the perkiest perk. :) But I must admit that with time I have learned to enjoy each season more than I used to.
Love your Sweat the Small Stuff Summer idea. It's fun to have our own blog series and look back. I'm doing the same with my Eat, Pray, Love series and it's actually making summer go by faster. ;)
Stay cool, friend.
xoxo's
I am soooo with you on this. I am happy to sweat when I am working out but I don't want to sweat walking from my house to the mailbox. After all, I am not prepared to sweat just walking or sitting or even sleeping. UGH! I hate the heat! I mean, it's fine if we are out on the water at the lake but just everyday.....I hate the heat. I'm definitely a fall girl!
Love the pics from June 23rd, by the way.
Happy Anniversary! Debbie, You look like a princess on your wedding day. What a gorgeous gown! I've always loved Summer, and most of the time, I still love it. I am not a winter person. No matter how many layers of clothing I put on, I'm still cold in the Winter. Ark is probably a good place for me to live. It gets really hot, but not bitterly cold, and probably not as hot as GA. Maybe you shuold just move to AR. Yes, you are always thining, and your thoughts are always so interesting and fun. Dumping the summer pail for relaxation is a grand idea! laurie
I thought I was the ONLY one who hated summer, egads I have a hard time functioning when the temps are 90 and above, compounded by humidity! "Fall is a Southerner's reward for surviving summer," to quote James Farmer :) I only hate that fall doesn't arrive here until November.
Cord of 3 strands...is a big deal in our marriage too. Beautiful, Debbie!
The stain is white from Sherwin Williams, and the floor is Olympic Cedar Natural Tone.
I thought of you and your beautifully oxycleaned deck the whole time I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the thing!
I think you need to come and try one of our summers. I use the term summer loosely here. Today's temperature is only 52 degrees with rain and grey,very grey skies! On the days when the thermometer reaches 70 we're over the moon but 100 degress - that sounds painful. I've just spoken to my sister in Arkansas and they have over 100 degrees too. Somewhere in the middle would be great for us all wouldn't it?
Oh here I go again being on the opposite team. LOL! I still love summer. I will take the heat over winter anytime. Of course it's a whole lot easier now with a pool for dippin in. I guess after being cooped up these last few years working inside you could say I was eager for some outdoor fresh air, even if it is a little muggy! LOL!
I'm on the same page as well. Was it really this hot years ago? Good grief...107 already? Ugh...
Yep, I stay indoors from 9am -7pm...there's always something to do...and then around 7:15ish I creep out and wander around finding something to do outdoors.
Thank goodness for AC...I'd never make it!
Post a Comment