Only One Suit Will Do in this Heat

I know it's pathetic that I'm only two weeks into this blogging thing and already I've been reduced to writing about the weather, but c'mon!

This is like the summers of my childhood ... spent primarily in Wamego, Kansas with Grandma B and a variety pack of cousins, or in Carmel, Ind., with my Aunt Jan & Uncle Bill, again with any mash-up of siblings and cousins.

Those were some hot summers when our only concern was what flavor of ice cream Grandma would scoop up after our day spent at the municipal pool. (At Aunt Jan's, it was always a root beer float after dinner. Never disappointing.)

Back then, the hotter the weather, the better. It meant entire days spent playing with cousins and 'summer friends' at the pool, slip-n-slides in the yard, Kool-aid and ice cream. Occasionally my older brother would try to actually fry an egg on Grandma's blacktop driveway.

Never once did I think about the electric or water bills. Or worry about the calories in those root beer floats or think about the damage the sun was doing to my skin.

But really, it's not even August and according to Tom Skilling, we've already had 15 days of temps in excess of 90 degrees.

And don't get me started on the humidity! Even at 6 a.m. it feels like I'm running behind a CTA bus.

Granted, there are hotter, stickier places on earth. Places without electricity or clean water. I get that. I'm fortunate to sit here in my air conditioned house writing about how hot it is outside and reminiscing about how hot it was back when it was ok that I wear halter tops and short-shorts.

But on days like these when we can't get to the pool on account of a napping Bonus Baby, the only thing to do is what TJ did yesterday. Put on the old birthday suit and play in the sprinkler.

Keep cool, friends, and see you in the back yard!