Keeping It Going in Alabama: Still Waiting for Summer

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Still Waiting for Summer

We think tomorrow it's going to be here. Seriously. The 80s are coming with sunshine about Sunday with little or no chance of rain. Just like I remember summers here. Personally, I love it the way it is. Anyone who knows me knows that I like a gloomy day with a fire and a book and plenty of coffee.

But it makes it really hard to be inside with energetic kiddos all day every day. They are kind of like me too in liking coziness and hot chocolate and snuggling in with books, but they also like to ride bikes and scooters and go crazy at the parks and swim. We have an apartment complex just full of elementary school kids this summer, and the heated pool is open, but it's just too uncomfortable for most of them. So the little boys ride their bikes and scooters up and down our alley and scare me to death.

I took a walk tonight downtown, and it was like an early October evening with a storm coming. Wind blowing, temps in the high 60s, some music thing happening somewhere, people out walking dogs and riding bikes. Except it's July. We should be sitting outside the yogurt place sweating and waking up at night and opening windows.

I'm just appreciating the low power bills and not sweltering.

Things that make you wonder what went on here. Those imaginations.

We read a book called Camp Jellybean or something like that where there were four little animals at a summer camp, and the main thing the girls got out of it was how much they really, really wanted those scarves the campers wore around their necks. It was also important to dress like their favorite campers, Nicole and Emily, one in pink and one in blue, even their shoes. So we came home and made pink and blue scarves (neckerchiefs?), and they wore them all day long.

We had painting going on outside this morning, and that opened up a lot of discussion about ladders and which windows were mine and which were Elise's. And waving to the workers.