By Lori Clinch
Old Man Winter is long gone and I, for one, could not have been happier to bid him a fond adieu.
Sure, he was nice at times. In fact, sometimes he was a real ray of sunshine. But then, just when you thought you were really getting to know winter, he would switch directions, blow in a blizzard and truly give you the cold shoulder.
Worse yet, I had to spend the bulk of his stay snowed under with paperwork.
But that was the tip of the iceberg and as the end of winter’s extended visit drew to a close, I simply couldn’t wait for his departure. When I thought of his icy breath and extreme temperatures, I wanted to give him a shove right out the door.
Oh, how I longed for summer. I often pictured her gentle breezes and evening rains, and warm balmy days I could enjoy on the front porch, feet up and book in hand.
But now that summer is approaching, I call to mind that sometimes she isn’t so pleasant either. In fact, she is like a relative you thought you really missed, couldn’t wait to see and after she showed up, you recall that you didn’t really adore her that much.
There’s no doubt I truly appreciate summer’s green thumb and the colorful way she has with landscapes. I always look forward to her gentle rains and warm nights. But just when you really get to appreciate how wonderful she is, she cranks up the heat, causing your feet to swell and your disposition to turn sour.
I honestly don’t mean to be a fair weather fan when it comes to the seasons. It’s just that when it rains it pours and I, for one, would like to take a rain check on the heat that is being promised for us this week.
Although I didn’t like turning blue in the cold, I’m not loving looking red and flushed in the heat. The humidity is messing with my hair, as well as my mojo, and although I truly like to be a ray of sunshine to those around me, I have been spending these last several hot days walking around like my head is in a fog.
Summer is coming and she’s not going anywhere fast. She is going to be long winded, intrusive and sometimes will truly make you feel as though you are under the weather.
It’s only mid-June and I am already dreading July along with the month that summer truly likes to pick up steam – August.
Alas, I’ll take comfort in the fact that although summer will hang around long past her welcome, she, too, will leave eventually. She will pack up her hot days, extreme temperatures and hot breath that she likes to blow in our face.
Every cloud has a silver lining and we need to remember that summer will stay only long enough for us to begin to ponder Old Man Winter’s return and begin to think, “He’s not really that bad.”
For now, I will put that thought on ice, for my memory of him hasn’t exactly fogged over.
I will try to take the heat in stride, walk around as though I’m on cloud nine and enjoy summer in both the good times and the bad, as though she was as right as rain.
Summer has her faults, to be sure, but in a mere six months we will be hearing jingle bells in the frigid cold as some bamboozler sings out “Let it Snow.”
Yet, I will put that thought on the back burner for now. In fact, I think I will save the housework for a rainy day. I will pour myself a tall lemonade, go out into the heat, settle in on the front porch and put my swollen feet up for a spell.
Just the thought of it seems as right as rain. That is until Old Man Winter makes his not-so-welcome return.
Lori Clinch is the mother of four sons and the author of the book “Are We There Yet?” You can reach her by sending an email to [email protected]