Summer here in SC is sweltering. We've had temperatures in the high 80's and 90's for months, summer weather in the springtime. The humidity seems awfully high for too long as well. It's too hot to be outside, and the no-see-ums and gnats seem to think that I'm sitting on the porch just so that they can sink their little teeth into my perspiring skin. No fun!
So...I stay in the house with the ceiling fan spinning and the AC set at 78 deg. I can handle that. We cook outside nearly every night, which keeps the oven from heating the house. I'm getting a lot done while I'm hiding from the heat, but I'm missing my husband, who looks as if he's truly melting away as he sits on the front porch, enduring it.
I was thinking today of summers 'back home' when my kids were small. We'd do whatever needed to be done in the house, and then I'd assign each child a beach item to carry to the car. One carried the insulated bag with sandwiches and beverages. One carried the bag with towels, another had the mesh bag of sand toys. Another carried the tubes, and another took the sand chair. It was a great undertaking to pack the car and get the 5 youngsters to the beach and then unload it all. Then, of course, there was the reverse of the same when we left! But, it was worth it to spend those carefree hours watching my kids splash and swim and enjoy themselves. It honestly was a great way to spend the summer days.
There was always a Fourth of July parade in the neighboring town of Southampton. Depending upon the traffic, it could be a drive of anywhere from half an hour to an hour, taking the main roads. It was a real mess trying to get away from the parade site, but we would generally park somewhere near the beginning of the parade, so we could leave as soon as the last float passed by. We'd walk to the car, and weave our way out of town, taking the back roads through Noyac and Sag Harbor. We'd be home and heading for the beach before the parade had actually finished its route.
Something else that was available in Southampton was a weekly concert. It was held in a park, and was usually worth going to. I remember one evening that I went with my husband's cousin. She and I parked ourselves on our army blankets on the grass, and watched as the kids romped and danced to the music. On that evening, someone sat down very near to us, with her family and another woman. She spoke with us throughout the evening, laughed easily, and was very friendly. It was Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. We recognized her, but didn't reveal that we did. She was as nice a person as I've always envisioned her mother to be.
Summer back home was miserably humid, as my hometown was so that it was surrounded by the ocean and the bays. Being near the ocean where the breeze was salty and nice, was some relief, but the bay beach didn't have quite the same breeze quality. Sometimes it was breezy, but warm, and not so much help in cooling us off.
Ahhhh well. Summer is summer wherever you live...and there are good things about it, like longer days and fun things to do. (and central Air Conditioning) and pools or beaches. There are a few things to complain about, like heat, humidity and crowded conditions in those pools or on those beaches and roads. For most, the season is worth waiting for and far too short. As for me, I'll be happy to see the temperatures fall about twenty degrees.
I hope you're enjoying your summertime, no matter where you are or what you're doing!
I remember too well the years growing up where nobody had air conditioning--only fans--and us kids sleeping right on the bare cement floor in the basement because it was the coolest place in the house, if not the hardest. Some of the classrooms in school were so warm that your hand stuck to the paper when you were writing. When air conditioning became affordable for the average person, that was heaven! People take it for granted now. Imagine living in New York, for example, back in the day when people died in the summer from the heat--literally. I LOVE AC!! :):)
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