Because it’s been so rainy and generally gloomy….I felt like we needed a reminder there are “better” days ahead.

It’s the sunshine glaring off the windshields, temporarily blinding you as you make your way out of the grocery store. It’s that rush of super humid, super hot air that takes your breath the moment you step outside. You wish for air conditioned pants. You want to go to the lake, but really even the thought of lake water isn’t cooling enough to bother. Then there’s the pool….but baking on concrete and then jumping into chlorinated water isn’t really worth getting your hair wet for, either. You sweat standing in your air conditioned bathroom straightening your hair, which will undoubtedly frizz as soon as you think about going outside. Dogs dig out the earth for a cooler place to lie, and rise slowly from their shaded resting places to bark halfheartedly at strangers.

It’s so hot you can’t even bear to think about wearing black for a funeral, but remember you bought those black and white palazzo pants just for these occasions. You question the sanity of those girls who wear fashion scarves. You barely refrain from rolling your eyes at those who wear a sweater in the office against the chill of the air conditioning. You debate on moving your chair directly over the vent. It’s too hot to move, other than to get new ice for your drink. There is no baking going on, and if you need to deliver a meal to someone, it’s either going to be pasta salad or something from the crock pot.

If you maintain a garden, you know to get out there early to hoe and spray for bugs and water the tomatoes. Already the sweat runs down the nape of your neck and you briefly wonder what the weather’s like in Maine. Or Mars. You wish you had an outdoor shower. You break beans and wonder why you thought you’d need to plant two rows. You also google squash recipes and stop perfect strangers at the grocery store from buying them, so you can give them yours.

You love the sunshine, but it’s brutal on your upholstery and hardwood floors, so you invest in heavy curtains to save them. Plus it helps cool the house, opening them only for company or Saturday morning airing-outs. You tint your car windows for the same reason, and put the reflective visor up religiously every day. You drink sweet tea from dawn till dark, because it’s too hot to think about coffee. It’s complaining about how hot it is and praying for winter and football and campfires.

You wait till nearly twilight to go fetch the mail, and think maybe you could stand sitting on your porch swing a minute to listen to the cicadas and tree frogs. But the mosquitoes are out, and no bats are coming to save you because Marsha and Tim down the road tore down their old barn a colony used to reside in. Because they scared their precious little boys. Their boys could use a little toughnin’ up, in your opinion.

It’s hay season, and you may be grateful you no longer have to endure those extra sweaty miserable days for the sake of feeding animals all winter. In the hay field, you must wear long sleeves to protect from sticky stems. The dust sticks to whatever it can, though, including the shirt you’re sweating through. It gets in your eyes and up your nose. You can’t drink enough water to replace what you’re losing, and you’re too tired to eat by the time you make it in from stacking bales in The Loft Where No Air Moves and dreams of a farm go to die.

But it’s not all about the heat. Sometimes it’s about the smell of charcoal grills and newly mown grass. It’s yard sales and car washes to raise money for band camp. It’s honeysuckles on the fence and bluebirds at the feeder. It’s horse shows and rodeos and back roads and beer. It’s refreshing evening summer showers that make everything sparkle and kids playing basketball in the street and flip flops for a dollar. It’s falling in love on fair rides and hiking across mountains to a waterfall. Ponytails are the only sensible hairdo, and maxi dresses are as fancy as you get for dinner. Boardwalks on beaches and $7 ice cream cones. It’s tent revivals and tacos on patios and just a good time, all summer long.

I hope I made you remember, and I hope I made you forget.