Summertime, And The Living Is Not Easy

We had an awful storm the other day, gusts of wind up to 60 knots with heavy rain. I noticed some of the gutters were sagging and water cascading over the top. So this morning I got my ladder and cleaned them out of the rubbish that had accumulated from the roof. I hate that kind of physical work because I am spoiled an lazy (Go ahead and agree with my assessment). Summer has come again. Ugh! My subject headline today is a variation on a familiar refrain from a great old song. "Summer Time and the living is easy," goes the verse (feel fortunate I can't sing it for you. Hearing my unprofessional singing voice might ruin your summer). But I think it is an uneasy, no unpleasant time of the year for me. I abhor hot weather and summer here is HOT and humid. It reminds we New Orleanians that we live in a swamp.
And why is summer my least favorite time of the year. There is so much more than the heat.
- those boring sunny days that make the weather of summer too predictable.... And the favorite line we all hate to hear "Are you sure the air conditioner working?"
- Mosquitoes, gnats, roaches, sand flies...every other insect and creature that wants to bite me or suck my blood.
- green, green green...Green is nice but also monotonous during summer. I like the many colors of fall leaves, not the endless green, green, grass and leaves of summer.
- Fat guys and gals wear tank tops and shorts to display their cellulite. Ugh! I wish they could keep their heavy coast on all year round.
- Phony summer mall sales are everywhere. They think we are stupid enough to fall for them because it's so hot outside and cool in the mall. Yeah, I know they are right.
- Sitting on hot and sticky summer car seats that have been baking in the heat all day isn't a glory. How about grabbing the steering wheel that is roasting at 50 C, while you wait for the car AC to finally emit cool air?
- It doesn't get dark until 9 PM! I am not a vampire, but I enjoy night too. In summer we have too little of it.
- Institutional AC systems freeze em. It's not nice to come inside to a public building, and transition from 40 C outside to 10 C inside. Why do they keep it so cold in those places?
- High transportation and other travel costs in summer make it an expensive to to see the world. Even gas prices for an auto are at their highest.
- Hurricanes... You don't have them so I won't rant about them. But they cause high anxiety all summer here.
- Raking leaves and lawn care take so much time during summer.
Am I whining too much about your favorite season? Ok, there are a few good things about summer. Some of my favorites include:
- I love eyeing those pretty ladies in bikinis or shorts and those pump shoes that show off their assets
- I love those snowballs, icy drinks and other cool treats. They taste better in the awful heat of summer.
- When I was a teacher I loved the summer vacation- No more school , no more books, no more teacher dirty looks....
- It's the middle part of the year, a time for optimism that things will be better in the future and that cool weather is just a few months away.
- No Christmas shopping or holiday chores to do in summer.
- Life is slower, expectations lower and we have more excuses to "do nothing" (which may be the secret to a happy life). That's enough of that. It's time for your own summer views. What about it?
Is summer your favorite, least favorite or just another part of the calendar?