The summer doldrums

 Most people experience winter doldrums, when it's dark and wet and gloomy.  That's my kind of weather. This time of year, summer (as of tomorrow) drives me crazy with its cheery sunny days and long, limpid evenings.  Those sunny days bring the threat of wild fires, which we have already encountered this past week.  The long evenings would be nice if not for the blasted mosquitos, biting me every chance they get. And don't get me started on the over 90 degree heat that pounds us day after day.

People go on vacation in the summer and other than parents who have kids out of school, I can't imagine a worse time to travel.  Hot sticky cars, steering wheels that burn your hands, traffic jams everywhere, crowds of people slurping sugary soft drinks, dripping ice cream everywhere, tossing trash into overflowing trash bins. Or lines and lines of travelers with overstuffed luggage trying to jam that suitcase into an already over-filled luggage compartment, crammed into an airplane seat next to a stinky, sweaty loud-mouthed jerk in shorts who wants snacks and drinks even before the plane takes off. This is enjoyable? This is someone's idea of a vacation?

At least if a person travels in the winter the lines are shorter and people sweat less. And since I never travel in the summer, my interaction with sweaty bodies is limited to those I encounter in my local tourist-oriented grocery store.  That's enough for me.

Besides wild fires and heat waves and long mosquito-driven evenings, the summer is not for those of us with chunky bodies.  Summer is for people who look good in shorts and tank tops. People who have media-friendly bodies. The summer is cruel to the rest of us, those who have jiggly upper arms and wrinkled knees and a spare tire around our waists that is impossible to camouflage. 

I spend a lot of time inside my tiny cottage (with AC) and read books and take naps. Early in the day is the only time to take a walk, which I do. There is a large pool on this property so a daily dip is part of my routine. Cocktail around 5:30, dinner two hours later. Summer lasts for months, of course, and it's just getting started. Can't let the doldrums get me down.....