Summer Daze
Ask 1,000 people what their favorite season is and the majority of them will likely say summer. You'll get a high percentage of votes for fall and a smattering of support for spring but people love the summer. As a kid, this made perfect sense to me. There's no school. You get to stay up late. You get popsicles, play whiffle ball, go swimming, take vacations. It's no contest.
But it gets progressively less fun as you get older. In high school maybe you have a summer reading list for and English class that just slightly mars your final week of the break as you slog through Howard's End. There's summer jobs which, compared to real jobs, aren't that bad but they're certainly not as fun as staying up until 1 a.m. playing poker with your friends. I remember after my first year of college being more than a little relieved that I was heading back to school as the end of August approached. It's great to be home and everything but honestly, for most people, college is considerably easier and more fun than work.
And now? Summers absolutely blow. I have dreaded and despised the summers ever since I graduated from college. A good portion of this hatred probably has to deal with how my internal thermostat is wired. As soon as the temperature cracks 75 I start getting uncomfortable. My perfect type of weather is overcast and high 50s. And during those few inevitable days in Oregon when it hits the high 90s or even cracks 100? I'm a wreck. I can't move, I'm cranky, every fan in the house is pointed directly at me and there is a very good chance that I will not don pants for an entire weekend. There are bugs in the summer and there is yard work to do. And this is Oregon we're talking about. We have the best summers in the country. Can you imagine if I lived in the South or in the humid Midwest? I would turn into a serial killer by the 4th of July if only I could muster the energy to leave the house.
To add insult to injury, the summertime is the absolute worst time for me at the newspaper as well. You would think this wouldn't be the case. It's the summer! No high school sports to cover! You can just coast! But that's the problem. There is absolutely NOTHING to cover and I still have to fill pages. So each week is just a frantic sprint to try and track down former high school players who are no playing Single-A baseball in Scranton. I get queries all the time from parents wondering if something that their kid has done is newsworthy. 98% of the time it is not. But in the summer? I don't care. I've done stories on fencing, rowing, mixed martial arts, dodgeball, frisbee golf and, my personal favorite, a 91-year-old rollerblader. Each story is just slightly more soul-crushing than the next until I can start writing the glorious football previews.
In summary: Summer is terrible. I will take two weeks of an Oregon February over two weeks of 90+ degree weather in August.
But this year, for the first time in close to 10 years, I was really anticipating the summer. Since Spring Break, Shelbi and I have seen very little of each other. Our routine has been simple. I watch Elliott until 4 and, when Shelbi comes through the door, I'm off to work. It is a workable but less than ideal system. And I have to tell you, despite the spring being my busiest time of the year, it was much easier and less tiring to be at work than it was to be at home with an infant for 8+ hours. So I counted down the days until the last day of school far more eagerly than Shelbi did this year. I even thought about making one of those paper chains where you rip off a ring each day until the big day is finally upon you. I think it marks the first of many times where I will enjoy reliving my childhood through my own kids.
However, as much as I have liked having Shelbi home, it's still not nearly enough to move the summer out of the hole as my least favorite season. Because if you guessed that I am writing this in my underwear with a fan two feet from my face, you are correct.
Daphne made a putt today. Newsworthy?
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Oh honey - this is so funny - I just loved it! I tend to agree with you. Maybe you got the high temp grumpies from me as I feel the same way. However, I do put on pants! Love you and actually I will be glad to get back to a summer as long as it is in Oregon! See you so soon. Yeah!!! Hug those dear ones.
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