Five Things on Friday is a weekly list of five things. Subject to be determined by me, but feel free to make suggestions in the comments. I will list my five things and then open the comments up to you, my loyal followers, readers, fans, groupies, what have you. Please respond. Or else, I'll feel all alone in the Earth. It'll be bad. Really.So, my friend Tess is new to blogging, but she's already learning the first rule of blogging. Don't talk about blogging. Um, sorry, no, the first rule of blogging is that if people like something you did, they will steal it. I'm stealing her Summer Lovin' list.
Actually, when I first read her list, I thought, "There is no way I could come up with ten reasons I love summer, since I hate summer." Then my mom posted her Summer Lovin' list and I realized that maybe I had a few reasons to love summer.
And, since I've got this Friday Five thing going on, I don't have to come up with ten. Instead, I decided to do five reasons to love summer and five reasons to hate summer. Because I can't let ya'll think that I'm actually happy in June. That would be horrible.
Five Things I Love About Summer:
1. No School - I really didn't think this affected me much until Mom pointed out that it meant my kids could stay over whenever they wanted, instead of waiting until the weekend. And yep. Love that. For one thing, it's nice to be able to arrange things according to my schedule, but also, it's a relief to once again give in to the whining. "Please, mommy, please, please, please. Can I stay the the night with NiNi and Papaw?" "Um, yeah, ask NiNi." Wow. How much better that feels.
2. My Grandma's Yard - I could just sit out there all day. And really, even when it's so Hell meltingly hot, there's so much shade and breeze there that it's hardly ever unbearable.
3. The Kids' Clothes - I don't know why, but there is something so magical to me about sundresses and tank tops. Tiny toes tucked in flip-flops. Halter tops. Bathing suits. Shorts. I spend three seasons looking at kids' clothes and marvelling at who would let their kid wear this "slutty" stuff and then buy them dresses that have less fabric than hankies in the summer. I can't explain this madness I have. But, oh my, is that a backless sundress! We must have it!
4. Sandals - Have I mentioned here that I like shoes? Well, I particularly like sandals. High heeled ones, flat ones, flip flops, wedges, espadrilles, skimmers. I broke one of my favorite pairs of flip flops and made a joke about being down to four pairs of flip flops. I went home, later and counted. Nope, I still have five. I'm an addict, but they are so cute and so cheap.
5. Music - I love summer music. You know what I mean, the songs that make you want to crank up the radio and roll down the windows. I should do five summer songs next week. Help me remember, kay?
Five Things I Hate About Summer:
1. Heat - I'm just not built for this. Heat indexes over 100 and humidity in the 90's. Uh-uh. No thank you. You can have it. Bring on the snow, baby.
2. Schedule - It seems like the only time more hectic than summer for us is Christmas. This week, we've had VBS, the fair, 2 doctor's appointments and a baseball game and I am almost positive that there is something I should be doing tonight that I have forgotten.
3. My Clothes - Since I have too little self-esteem and too much self-awareness to walk around in hankie dresses and tank tops, I struggle with summer clothes. It's hard to not be miserable hot when you feel that you absolutely MUST cover every inch of skin. I only own one pair of shorts. I'm serious. And tank tops are reserved for wearing under things. I long for sweater weather. Anyone can look cute in a nice pair of slacks and a pretty sweater.
4. Sand - Okay, so this probably isn't fair since I haven't bee to the beach in at least a decade, but I hate sand. I hate how it gets everywhere and how it seems to make everything hotter. I see pictures from other peoples' beach vacations and I get all jealous and then I remember that I (1) hate to swim where living things, um, live and (2) hate the sand. What's there for me, really. Oh, I'll go again eventually, basically because I think there becomes a point where it's a shame for a kid to have to say they've never been to the beach. But that's the only reason.
5. Bugs - Bugs, bugs, bugs. Fleas come into our basement every stinkin' summer. I can't even figure out why. There's no one down there to eat. Mosquitoes, bees, spiders, moths. It's like they come out of the woodwork. (Well, the bees are wood bees, so maybe they do.) I am not a girly girl who can't stand the sight of an insect, but still, there comes a point where I can just do without them, thank you very much.
So, what about you. I understand that I am in the vast minority preferring winter, but sure I'm not completely alone. What do you love about summer and what do you hate about summer. Be balanced, fair, or not. Just chime in. You know how I get.
3 comments:
I'm going to steal your idea of five songs that scream summer for next week. So far as things I love and hate about summer, since I've already done my Fri5 this week, I'll post them here.
Love:
1. Capri pants. I don't care if they do make my legs look stubby. Since it stays so hot down here, and I refuse to wear shorts in public, I spend about 10 months of the year wearing capri pants. I dress them up for work, dress them down for weekends, and even have several pair of capri pants pajamas.
2. The fact that there are so many three day weekends in summer. Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day. I usually can't afford an actual vacation, or have used up my vacation days by the time summer comes, so these three day weekends help me limp through the summer without going insane. Plus, when I do have the odd vacation day or two left over, I can combine them with a holiday (as I am this year) to turn a three day weekend into a five day one!
3. Free/cheap labor. Summer means my kid is home bored, which means I can pile extra chores on him both at home and at work. He's so tired of being home all day that it's usually pretty easy to get him to come to work with me every once in a while and put him to work cleaning. It helps that he also gets to play with liquid nitrogen (supervised, of course) when he's here.
4. The sun stays up so much later, and I am so much more energized. I actually can accomplish stuff when I get home, instead of lapsing into a dark-induced coma as I do in the winter.
5. Sandals and flip flops, which give me an excuse to justify the splurge of a pedicure. I hate the winter time down here, when I'm forced to wear socks and sneakers or boots. I know I have ugly feet, but I don't care. I lurve me some sandals!
Hates:
1. THE HEAT!!!! I'm with you, Jessi, on the whole "bring on the sweater weather". I, too, have the desire to keep myself covered up (hence the capri pants in summer). Unfortunately, true "winter" is nonexistent down here. We usually have to crank the A/C down really low to get to wear cute Christmas sweaters.
2. To go with #1, THE HUMIDITY! We are in the 90th percentiles of humidity a lot down here, and I'm so sick of it. I hate sweating the minute I walk out the door. I feel like I need another shower as soon as I get out of the shower. Send me back up north, please!
3. Bugs. Again, I'm with you on that one, Jessi. I hate bugs. My house is infested with fleas right now because of the dogs, and the flies come in constantly when we let the dogs out. I feel like I'm at war with insects, and I'm losing!
4. Sunburn. My son and I are both so fair complected that it is inevitable that we will experience some degree of burn when we go outside, regardless of how short a time we are outside or how much sunblock we've slathered on. Fishbelly-white skin and intense sunlight don't mix, period.
5. Swimsuits. I love to swim, but hate wearing a swimsuit. Nothing looks good, nothing is comfortable. I've given up and taken to wearing men's swim trunks with a sports bra and quick-dry t-shirt over it. I'm more covered, I can still swim and I have a lot more fun if I'm not constantly worried about what's going to fall out or how much skin is showing.
This is a fun one. I'll probably do it later. Let you know when I do.
As for the sand and beach vacations, I like to go to "the beach" and swim in the hotel pool, and look out the patio at the beach--I can still smell and hear it, but I don't have to touch it. I am not drastically opposed to sand, but I do not enjoy it as much as I did when I was a kid. I used to sit on the shore and let the waves knock me over. But i don't like having a swim suit full of sand anymore. And as for summer clothes, it's a big pain in the butt. Okay. I think I'm ready for my own lists.
Oh! I'm going to do this. Right now.
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