The Summertime Blues: My Cure

I am not a fan of summer. I know I am in the minority on this, but I just don't like it.

I remember being a little kid and waiting in Christmas Eve-like anticipation of summer break. In those salad days, summer was a time for swimming, vacations and fun. But by the time I hit age 11 or 12, it was simply a time when I had nothing much better to do than watch TV all day. When I reached the teen years, it was months of working crappy, annoying summer jobs. And now that I'm an adult, summer isn't much different for me than any other season.

There are some things I love about summer. The food, for example, is great. Nothing can beat a grilled steak and ice cream. I enjoy growing flowers and herbs and going to outdoor parties and even baseball games (much to the surprise of those who know me, but that's another story). And I love sitting on my balcony in the evening, listening to the trees rustle in the breeze, if it's not too hot.

And that's where summer goes wrong for me. The temperatures.

I abhor hot, sticky weather, the kind that makes you feel like you have to take a shower again as soon as you step out of the shower in the first place. The kind that makes you want to sit in one spot and not move till the sun goes down. The kind that makes people go out and buy the flimsiest, teeniest tank tops and short shorts they can squeeze into, especially those people who have no business wearing such items. Equally as annoying are the girls who put their hair into the sloppiest, lumpiest style possible to get it off of their necks. If it's too hot to wear your hair down, at least use a brush, ladies. Summer seems to bring out the worst in us when it comes to fashion. But I digress.

The alternative, of course, to the hot and sticky is the freezing cold brought to us by air conditioning. I'm happy to have it, especially when temperatures are in the 90s, as they have been in my area for the past several days, but I will never understand why, every year, as soon as May comes around and the temperature hits about 75, people crank up their air conditioners so the inside temperature plunges into a frigid zone. I wear a jacket when it's 60 degrees outside; why would I want it to be 60 degrees inside?

It's hard to enjoy my grilled steak and ice cream when I'm constantly trying to adapt to the extreme temperatures. It's hard trying to explain this to people, too, because most folks don't mind the highs and lows of June, July and August.

The only safe haven I can seem to find is my own home, and after a foray into my frigid local library, I am enjoying the season more than ever, right from my very own couch.

So bring it on, summer. Give me all you've got. I've got a pile of books in my living room just waiting for another hot day.