I’m so sick of writing about work, I don’t even want a post about work at the top of the blog right now. Let’s talk about something else. ANYTHING else. And ideally something where it’s not just me talking, and the only thing for anyone else to say is Something Supportive, do you know what I mean? Like when someone is on new diet or fitness program or has a new baby (OR HAS A NEW JOB) and they blog ONLY ABOUT THAT, and how many times can you write something supportive about it without feeling like you could just cut-and-paste your comment? You guys have been so kind as I obsess and adjust and agitate, and I can’t say I’m going to stop doing it, but at least I can write about ANYTHING ELSE once in awhile.
A list I keep meaning to make is “Things I Miss About Summer/Winter When It Is Winter/Summer.” So that I can use it in the OPPOSITE season: that is, so that in summer, when I am missing things about winter, I can look at the list I made in the wintertime and remember what’s good about summer.
I know ONE thing I miss about summer when it’s winter is the ability to just walk out the door without boots, jackets, etc. I also miss the feel of air conditioning, which is totally different than winter-chilliness and which I love. I know some people hate the feeling of air conditioning, but I find it delightful. So cool and dry, like the exact opposite of hot and sweaty! I also like having the windows open, especially when it’s hot in the daytime and surprisingly chilly at night. I like the feeling of all that FREE air-conditioning coming into the house and starting us nice and low at the beginning of the day, so that we’re even a little shivery. And I miss eating ice cream: I realize it CAN be eaten in winter, but what happens all winter is that I think I don’t really LIKE ice cream anymore. Then it’s summer again and I realize I DO like it.
But right now I’m mostly noticing the pissy things about summer. Like, we have a LOT of motorcycles that ROAR past our house: we happen to live right at a good roaring place. I can try to empathize about how nice it must feel to…—but that’s as far as I get before I end the sentence with uncharitable things such as “…deafen/annoy the whole neighborhood just because you think it sounds rad.”
And the bugs. THE BUGS. They are nuts. Why bugs. Why.
And I hate sweating and being hot. Haaaaaaaaaaate it.
And I hate sandals, and I hate dusty feet, but I also hate how it looks when I wear sneakers with short pants / long shorts / I don’t know what to call this length but it’s below the knee and above the ankle. I hate having to shave my legs so much. I don’t like skimpy clothes.
The expense of the air-conditioning. That deserves a mention.
Having the kids home is not as oppressive as it used to be, AT ALL. And there are upsides to having them home, like not having to deal with homework and catching the bus and other school stuff. But. I’m still putting them on the list, Grinchily, with that wrinkled-face headachey look about the noise noise noise noise NOISE. And they want ice cream, too, so everything is always sticky.
Going to the grocery store when it’s hot. Dragging everything to and then from the car when it’s so hot out, and everything is melting.
Taking the kids to swimming lessons and BAKING outside while they splash and shiver and then they don’t want the air conditioner on in the car and I’m DYING OF HEAT.
I really think fall is the ideal season. People are always like, Whaa? Fall? Everything’s dying! The days are getting shorter! But I love cool, crisp days and wearing jeans again and not having the sun lighting up the children’s bedrooms until 10 at night with them moaning about going to bed when it’s still light out.
Also: I derive great satisfaction from knowing those bikers will be completely deaf when they’re old. That’s the only thing that makes it okay when I hear them roaring past.
If it’s any comfort, I think you have really cute sneakers that would go with any outfit (besides, maybe, a ball gown?) I have red Keds that I wear with shorts, cropped pants, and all lengths of skirts/dresses, and I get so many compliments on how cute they are. I feel like yours are the same category.
Oh p.s. another thing I like about summer: no snow tracking in all over the floor and making car and home gritty and messy and slushy every single moment of every single DAY.
But sand! So much sand! :)
Yessssss! Walking around the house in wet socks after you step in a slushy puddle left by some inconsiderate family member who “only came in for one thing” and neglected to remove their boots? Rage inducing.
Also now that I have floor-dwelling children I really notice the salt/gravel/sand bits that get tracked All. Over. The house.
Down with winter!
I much prefer being cold in the winter to being hot in the summer, with one exception: I work out in the morning near my office, so I wear workout clothes for my commute and then shower and dress at the gym. And I hate HATE *HATE* having to put a pair of sweatpants or leg warmers or giant socks and snowboots or a long-sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt or ALL OF THE ABOVE to commute to the gym, then strip off all those layers. UGH. I guess I will appreciate the easy summer workout prep while it lasts.
The heat. Oh, my stars and garters, the heat. I have never liked the heat and now that I am of, ahem, a certain age, it feels like an actual physical presence sitting on my head and basting me while it cackles. At least I’ve finally convinced Husband that turning off the air conditioner at night, even if it’s forecast to get down to 72 before dawn, is a terrible, terrible idea.
I have been thinking about this a lot, since we have passed from the YAY IT’S SUMMER phase into the THE HEAT MY GOD THE HEAT phase.
Pro-summer: Frisson of excitement surrounding day/weekend trips and outdoorsy excursions; not feeling a bitter wind lash at my face every time I leave the house; no coats; ease of footwear; wearing shorts and summery dresses; increased ice cream, lemonade and hamburger intake; less rushing around to school and related activities; more time spent at beaches; leaving work when it is still light outside; rose wine and similar summery drinks; easier to take the dog out.
Anti-summer: Roasting on unbearably hot subway platforms; terrible hair for months on end; showing up at work covered in a sheen of sweat; child waking before 7am even on weekends due to earlier sunrise; somewhat oppressive feeling of needing to be outside and/or doing Big Fun Things all the time; increase in unwanted attention on the street; constant proximity to other sweaty people; endless application of sunscreen; ever-present envy of people who have country/beach homes and/or spend their entire summer at the beach.
Summer does not HURT, even though heat can get very…hot. But winter often HURTS to the extent that I stop doing things, like getting out of my building at lunch, or taking my kids places, or doing things outside. So I realllllllllllly try to soak it up in the summertime and enjoy how much easier it is to DO almost anything in the summer. Except, perhaps, drying my hair. (Just got out of shower! So hot again WTF!)
No children or spouses in my house lose their mittens, hats, or coats in the summer. Ever.
However. I really hate summer clothes. Like, a lot. The shoes that are cute are not practical, and the practical shoes look stupid. I can handle one work/life wardrobe for cool weather, but in the summer there is a chasm between work-appropriate and office-appropriate. Okay, I guess I like summer clothes enough on the weekends, but that is only 2/7th of every week. And perhaps that’s very superficial of me, but when I feel like a schlump, I’m less happy. I like jeans and pants and boots and dresses and tights. Can’t really do any of that in the summer.
Summer holidays are so much fun when you have friends to BBQ with or fun park district things to do! Except that when you DON’T, in any given summer, because you moved or started a new job or have a cranky baby or whatever, you feel lame celebrating summer holidays on your own or with your immediate family in a way that you DON’T for Christmas or even New Year’s or Valentine’s Day, IMO. Xmas is just us and our stockings? That is our charming family tradition. 4th of July is a few sparklers in the back alley? You are lame. By you, I mean ME, of course.
I like my kids’ summer sports more because I am not usually freezing cold while watching them. There is nothing quite like a ballgame on a lovely summer day. All hockey games hurt in person, even the great ones. SO COLD. Such ouchy bleachers.
I love having flowers outside in my wee city garden. However, I would like to take a TORCH to the PEAR TREE in our backyard, which produces so much fruit and rotting fruit and attracts bees and wasps and rats and squirrels and basically renders the yard unusable in August and September, so what is the f-ing POINT WE HAVE A GROCERY STORE WHERE THEY SELL PEARS. And then my kids eat too many pears and everyone gets diarrhea.
So, basically this boils down to pain, fashion, my hermit tendencies, and dislike of fruit trees. Perhaps this post will not be so much inspiring as comforting in the “at least I am not a lunatic like her.” ;)
I’m sorry…I shouldn’t laugh but I did. Damn fruit trees!
This summer in Indianapolis, we have had record setting rain and I mean RECORD SETTING. July is either the driest or second driest month and this year it’s not only the wettest July but the wettest month ever or some nonsense. It’s been awful because we can’t do anything outside when it rains and then when it’s sunny they are so demanding that we carpe the freaking diem and get to the pool. My kids are so, so bossy, I feel like I’m in the army or something – up with the sun and having to go to bed so early just to get ready for the next day. I am starting a job on Monday (OMG) and I’m trying to enjoy my time with them, especially my littlest, but she is the one I am most sick of because she is so used to getting her own damned way she is the worst boss of all. I hate putting on a bathing suit every day and going to that stupid pool and I HATE that Facebook friends of mine think I am an evil and bad person for not LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF THE POOL! How could you hate the pool?, they sniff, I’d LOVE to go to the pool! Leave it to Joanne to complain about going to the pool! What about skin cancer, I want to say? What about the fact that I can never sit down and I watch my friends talking to THEIR friends while I sit at the baby pool, talking to only Felicity and encouraging her to PLEASE stop taking everyone’s toys out of their hands. #summerfun
Another thing to hate about the pool (or beach) is sunscreen application. Omg. I hate its greasy feeling on my skin and the way it gets everywhere. I hate feeling responsible for someone else’s sunburn/skin cancer prevention, and I HATE the actual applying of sunscreen to my small people.
I live on a prime roaring road, too, and I HATE it.
Me too!! Four houses in from a 4-way stop. Motorcycles & cars without mufflers just LOVE to gun it off the stop.
I love summer except it’s HOT and we live where it’s definitely HOT ALL THE TIME in summer, so it’s kind of a big thing to hate about summer. I do like swimming though, and I guess you can’t do that without heat. But I hate being sweaty. Ugh.
And now that school is starting next week I’m realizing that I’m very much looking forward to school starting next week. Very much. The years are short and all that but lately the days are loooong.
Probably my single MOST favorite thing about summer is being able to leave the house in sandals and what I’m wearing and not have to put on socks and shoes/boots and a coat and gloves etc. etc. Although one thing about winter that I miss in the summer is that no one can tell if I’m not wearing a bra if I have my big coat on… so I can walk the dog braless with no one being the wiser! And not needing to wear slippers/socks to keep my feet warm. What I’m learning from this exercise is I basically dislike having to put on/wear clothes.
This is a *fabulous* idea. Since I live in FL, I can go on at length about the hatefulness of summer heat (want to feel like you’re walking into a hot sponge? Step outside!) But I think this’ll be better for me if I focus on the things I miss about summer when it’s winter, since those are a bit harder to dredge up. (Sadly, I adore fall, and that’s one season we kind of don’t get down here.)
Good things about summer: the added light can be nice, since I really enjoy sunset, and like getting more of a chance to see it during the week. The lizards are much more frolicsome in the summer, and show off their little dewlaps (red throat frills) much more often. We see rabbits in the yard, and traffic is *much* improved, especially on roads near the schools.
No one has mentioned the WOOOOORST part of summer- cooking dinner when it is hot outside. I can make casseroles and soups and hearty warm-you-up meals all day long but when it comes to summer I’m just like “forget it I’m ordering food again” and we really can’t afford it but I DONT WANT THE KITCHEN TO BE HOTTER THANKS.
I have a certain number of no-cook meals (like hummus and veggies and pita and olives and cheese, or a big chef salad, or whatever) just for those days, and other meals that take under 15 minutes of heat. I feel the same way! No roast chickens when it’s 200 degrees outside.
Don’t forget the BBQ! Over half our dinners are something grilled outside with cold sides!
YES! Currently I’m so sick of whatever meat grilled with a salad or other cool item on the side I could scream. However, I’m not so sick of it that I’m about to heat up the kitchen cooking something I’m not tired of. So instead I just feel disgruntled every dinner time in Summer. Bah.
I have a lot of time to contemplate this lately since my new Fitbit makes me go for walks every day. I am a teacher and do have 11 weeks off every summer. And, I am getting a bit bored. Not that I want to go back to work yet, but summer gets very long. I hate not appreciating every nice day – I live in Minnesota so the winters are long and brutal. I hate being hot. I hate the Mosquitos. I hate feeling like I need to take my child to the park/lake/pool every sunny day. I am used to being surrounded by friends and colleagues at work, with lots on my mind. In the summer I get lonely and bored – what should I do with all of this time? Yet I like the freedom to stay up late and sleep in! I like the freedom to read and relax! But I’m bored! Summer is a tricky season for me!
Not what you asked, but I’ve stopped shaving my legs, and I DON”T CARE!!!! It’s exceptionally freeing.
Summer fun – longer days means evening walks, hanging out more with friends, going to parks, hanging the bedding outside to dry and the lovely smell that makes, vacation (first one in 3 years for us this year), things like ice cream, salad and sangria tastes better, just basically a slower pace where people don’t expect everything to happen right away because it’s hot and people are away more.
Summer hate – being sweaty, sticky all the time makes me cranky! Shaving more, painting toes more is time consuming and boring. Not being able to exercise unless it’s early morning or late evening. Too much air conditioning makes me clammy so I feel uncomfortable most of the time. Cooking inside on the stove is unbearable because I don’t have central air. Where I live summer heat can continue until mid October and it always feels like we miss fall and summer stays too long.
That was fun but it’s also fun to hear about your job!
Might I suggest boat shoes? They are exceptionally cute with capri length pants/shorts. Also very comfortable, I have a part time job where I am on my feet the entire 8 hour shift and feel great wearing them. Also can be worn without socks, however you will get dusty feet that way. Sigh. I also hate the sticky heat of summertime, but live in Minnesota, so I try to soak up as much vitamin D while I can.
I love summer except for one thing: mosquitoes! Other than that, no part of it bothers me… I enjoy the sometimes crazy heat of the south of France (where I live), I love summer clothes, I love summer fruit, I love ice cream, I love being able to go away with my daughters (who don’t live with me, so time away with them is precious), I love the flowers, I love the almost constant sunshine…
And I loathe winter with every cell in my body (even here, where yes, contrary to what you might believe, it can get pretty cold, but never for very long) – all the clothes, never feeling warm, never wanting to leave the house (or even bed, for that matter), the darkness, the early nights, the boring fruit… bleurgh
:-D
Your ice cream commentary made me laugh because 1) I love ice cream unabashedly, and 2) up until about 2 years ago I had always lived in super hot climates and it never occurred to me that some people view ice cream as seasonal. I moved to my current very cold and very remote foreign location in winter 2+ years ago and stood staring at the freezer section of the grocery store because there was very little ice cream/Popsicles etc. I just thought – well, I guess ice cream is not their thing up here (woe). Then suddenly in July – tons of ice cream. Derp.
Summer grumble: I live in Portland, Oregon so in April when we get our first rays of sunshine and everyone is pretending it’s summer and wearing shorts even though it’s 60 degrees, I love seeing people again and feeling the vibe of the city. HOWEVER! Now it is July and it’s legit Hot Outside and I feel like the lines for everything are so long! Like, dammit, why are there people doing everything I want to do when I want to do it?! Why are there other people, in general?
Summer happy moment: I have ice cream cheerfully and without guilt every single day. When it occurs to me, I obtain and eat ice cream. Sometimes twice a day.
Things I Like About Summer: Wearing sandals because I love them, and I don’t even care that my toenails aren’t painted. Wearing dresses without having to worry about tights or pantyhose or anything. Being able to get out of the pool after water aerobics, throw on a cover-up, and go home, instead of having to completely change out of my wet suit so I don’t freeze but then freezing anyway. Not having to hassle with coat, gloves, etc. The fact that it’s light out until nearly bedtime. Peaches, so many peaches.
Things I Hate About Summer: Heat and humidity and being hot and feeling gross and everything about that. I hate walking out the door and feeling like I need a shower immediately. I hate it so much that it offsets all those things above that I like. Also, I live in kind of a touristy area, and some of my regular weekend haunts are unpleasantly crowded on the weekends during the summer. I’ll take the January Farmers Market when there’s nothing but apples, sweet potatoes, and some eggs over the abundant July market that is also filled with out-of-towners looking for a fun day out while I’m trying to grocery shop.
I can’t believe no-one’s mentioned the worst thing about summer: Sunscreen! So while true that I can walk out the door without a coat, it’s not before a 10 minute/person slathering, making everyone (but mostly me) even more sticky and hot.
But I do love: Pimm’s, salads for dinner, BBQ, sandals & shorts, long days
Yum, Pimm’s. And gin & tonic. And actually other summer cocktails too.
Things I miss about summer when it is not summer: the produce!!! I love the produce!
Things I hate about summer: applying sunscreen to my toddler, bug spray, having to be cooped up at work inside.
Oh yes, summer fruit is the best!
Things I like about summer:
-Swimming. I hate being cold, so I’m not a fan of swimming unless it’s over, like, 90 degrees outside (and even then the water can’t be TOO chilly), but the feeling of jumping into a pool on a hot, hot day is the best thing ever.
-Being able to say, “Hey, let’s go to the park/beach/pool/etc.!” and not having to worry about the weather not cooperating.
-The fact that it doesn’t get dark until fairly late. I like daylight.
-Sunny weather. Fog and rain just depress me.
Things I dislike about summer:
-Sweat.
-All the leg shaving. OH GOD THE LEG SHAVING.
-Feeling tired and overheated if I have to walk more than, like, a block.
-Swimsuits. I always feel like I’m naked when I wear them.
-When I underestimate how hot it’s going to be and I wear long pants and my legs feel all hot and sweaty and gross.
YAY SUMMER!! I’m thankful for all of the sunshine and Vitamin D (under the protection of sunscreen, of course) because of how awwwwwwwful February was when it was gloomy and rainy and depressing for what had felt like MONTHS on end. Homemade ice cream! Messy, but totally worth it. Also, when my neighbors/coworkers/friends bring me excess produce from their garden. Baseball bat sized zucchini? Why, yes, I’d love to take that off your hands. Ugly, inappropriate looking tomato? Thank you! Wearing less makeup. I’m very fair skinned and remain pretty pale year round, but am slightly less pallid/ill looking without makeup during summer, so I like to take advantage and go barefaced as much as possible. Birdwatching on the deck surrounded by all of my flowers, ferns, banana trees, etc., and pretending I’m on a tropical island.
Boooooo Summer. I have hyperhydrosis, which is way harder to manage in the summertime because not only am I dealing with bogus sweat caused by faulty brain wiring, but also legitimate sweating because my body is trying to cool down. So. Much. Freaking. Sweat. Extra showers, more laundry, bleh. Also, the inevitable sunburn. I am religious about sunscreen, wearing hats, and staying in the shade, but I always manage to get at least one accidental sunburn every summer. And as much as I love my plants, I do NOT love trudging outside to water them in the oppressive heat for the 9 millionth time. And add me to the masses who hate the summer shaving routine.
I find winter far more oppressive in terms of children than summer. Yes, they have school, but only 2/3 of my kids are school-age and one is still in preschool and then they come home and there is nothing to do and we can’t go outside without wanting to die so we all just sit around playing with the same toys while I rack my brain for things to do and often resort to excess screen time. Summer!!! Parks and riding bikes and going to the pool and just throwing little outfits and sandals on without forty two uncomfortable layers which inevitably go on right before the wearer decides they MUST pee, and we have to drive to school and it’s only four blocks and there’s not parking and the toddler is furious about the cold and it’s only light for like three hours a day.
I can’t think of anything positive to say about winter. well, I guess I like sweatshirts.
I know this is not family-appropriate but re the motorcycles, I’d be tempted to put passive-aggressive signs up all over the place saying “Rev your engine if you have a SMALL PENIS!”
Things I hate about summer: mosquitos, paying $50 a day for a park district day camp that the children complain about non-stop, mosquitos, packing lunches for day camp, losing water bottles/lunch boxes at day camp, mosquitos, kids don’t want to go to the pool with me because they are “forced” to swim every day at camp, I don’t work on Mondays in the summer but it end up being a day for chores instead of a day for fun, uh, & mosquitos.
Things I like about summer: youth baseball & tee-ball, playing bags / cornhole, 15 year old birkenstocks, gin & tonics, camping with friends, three day weekends for 12 weeks, tomatoes, grilling every night for dinner, lots of real estate closings at work which are my favorite thing to do.
I HATE motorcycles. HAAAAATE.
Nothing makes you hate summer more than not having air conditioning. :P This is the first time in my LIFE (and I turn 51 next month) that I live in a house without central air, and I hate it with a passion. We’re just renting here, or else I would be installing central air in a heartbeat! The window AC cools only one room well, and there’s nowhere else in the house to logically place a second unit (because once it’s in, it blocks the window and you can’t open it for fresh air on cool days).
I never complain in the winter (I love snow and colder weather) so I feel completely justified to complain and whine when it’s 95 degrees with 98% humidity. UGH.
Gotta say, though — it IS nice to walk outside without having to put on a coat, gloves, etc!
Love:
Not being overscheduled
Dislove:
The way things fall apart without a schedule
Love:
Not needing a coat
Dislove:
Needing bug spray and sunscreen
Love:
More daylight
Dislove:
Being wiped out by heat and needing to go to bed at 9
Love:
Stone fruit
Dislove:
Overbuying fruit and thus creating artisinal compost
Summer:
Love: Fruit. Veggies. Softshell Crabs. Ice cream. CORN ON THE COB
Hate: Too hot to make and eat soups and stews.
Love: Canvassing (knocking doors to talk to voters) in light-weight clothes.
Hate: Sweating even in light-weight clothes while canvassing.
Love: Bicycling. Swimming
Hate: Sunscreen and bug spray.
Love: Skirts and sandals
Hate: Wearing a bra while sweating but have absolutely no choice. Built like an over-stuffed sofa.
Winter:
Love: Soups and stews.
Hate: Lack of good fresh fruit and veggies. There are only so many apples and bananas I can take. And now I’ve got that song in my head.
Love: Leather boots with tights
Hate: Winter boots. Mittens. Hats. Scarves. COATS.
Love: Cashmere sweaters, and flannel-lined jeans.
Hate: Wearing coats when going into over-heated stores.
Love: Baking and knitting
Hate: Being cooped up in the house.
That length of pants sounds like capris! And you can totally wear sneakers with them ,as long as you don’t have tall socks that cover the exposed leg and make the shorter pants pointless! :)
I feel like July/August is the 4:00/5:00PM of the seasonal cycle. Has the potential to be either witching hour or happy hour or a little of both. Usually a little of both.
This made me think of a quote by Mark Twain I read the other day: “Summer is the time when it’s too hot to do the job that it was too cold to do last winter” :-))
Hmm, my entire list just says “Everything about summer is very, very bad” and then a frowny face and an exclamation point.
I LOVE summer! I could say it a hundred times and it would not express the depth of my passion for this gloriously hot, shorts-and-sandals, dialed-down work dress code, iced-drinks, laze-by-the-pool, skip-off-to-the-gym-already-in-my-workout-clothes, salad-for-dinner, fudgesicle-eating season!
No constant-layering of clothes just to get too and from work or the gym or, well, anywhere! No tracking salt-and-dirt-laden slush into my house! No mountain of wet mits, hats and snowsuits to contend with! No rushing for school during the week or early hockey practice on weekends! No dry, cracked hands! No keeping tissues in my pocket for noses running from the transition from outside to inside! No emerging into darkness when I get off work at 4:30!
I am a bad Canadian!