I loved this post, “The Screen Door Slams,” by our friend Polly Kreisman of The Loop, about her favorite, and least favorite, things about summer. As we eke out the final drops of summer on this very late Labor Day, I thought I’d compile my own list.
Things I like:
- Going barefoot
- Falling asleep in a hammock by the lake, any lake
- Shade
- Fireflies in June, crickets in August
- Strolling down Church Street on a Friday or Saturday night
- Farm stand corn
- Barbecues with good friends
- Fireworks
- “Mad Men,” “Weeds, “Entourage”
- Listening to cliques of 11-year-old girls talking at the pool
Things I don’t like:
- Oppressive 100-degree days, especially when the air-conditioner in the minivan is broken
- Mosquitos in the back yard, ants in the kitchen
- How your hair puffs up like a chia pet on humid days
- Trying to find a movie that isn’t action or animated
- Kids who can’t stay out of the lap lanes
- Scorched grass
- Watering
Your turn. What’s best — and worst — about summer?
Things I Dislike:
Burnt out Lawn after dedicated watering
Anything over 85 degrees
Humid Weather
Mosquitos and their friends
Things I Like:
Showing my 6 “Special” Cars at Essex County Car Shows,
and prepairing them at home, for the shows.
Shade and a hammack
Cookouts
Rides to the New Hope area, thru the forests, thereof
with the top down and the music I like.
Going To Verona Park, Brookdale Park, Maplewood Memorial Park &
Camaron Field in S.O.
Going to Zadies & piggin’ Out big-time!
the zinnias….the dahlias….the anemones…..
the morning glories really start to put on a show right around now, the pumpkins, the ornamental gourds, the squashes….
getting multicolored indian corn at the farmstand for my front door.
And even when it is hot during the day, by nighttime, it’s ‘sleepable.’
Can’t find much to dislike about summer, except maybe humidity and mosquitoes. Oh, and slower race times.
Likes:
Pedicures and open-toed shoes
Sun dresses
No coats
Running without having to wear 4 pounds of clothing
Getting a reservation/table in a restaurant, no problem
Fewer people on the bus/train
People in better moods (for the most part)
Flowers!
Butterflies!
Iced coffee
Corn on the cob
Outdoor festivals
I could go on and on!
Dislikes:
Going back to work after a week off. (yeah yeah, happy am I to have a job. yada yada.) Why Oh Why can’t I be independently, fabulously wealthy, so I can sleep later than 6am and spend some quality time holding babies at the hospital, and walking dogs at the shelter!
In the likes column…
Tubing on the Delaware! (this was a first, and will be a repeat!)
Biking on Crest Drive in SoMoRes! (thanks Baristas!)
Finally seeing some monarchs at my butterfly bush!
Adding more plants to the garden!
Not having to make kids’ lunches for what, like 12 weeks??
My new backyard bug zapper – free shows nightly!
Likes:
Long days filled with daylight and soft breezes
Birds chirping in the morning
Crickets chirping at night
Going barefoot through the parks of Montclair
Barbeques that last into the night
Ice Cream at Applegates
The incredible lush trees, color bursts of flowers & Iris Gardens
Dislikes:
Humidity that ruins your hair
Mosquitos
Things I Like:
Laidback feeling
Shore
Pool
BBQs
Warm weather
Ice cream at Holsten’s
Vacations
Lemonade
Fruit
Haband shorts
Hearing about the summer in WestMapleBurnOrange
Things I dislike
Labor Day Weekend when it ends
Things I like:
Being a teacher and having summers off
Sun dresses
Vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard
BBQs
Iced coffee
Ice cream
Fresh squeezed lemonade
Margaritas
Watching my kids play in the sprinkler
Wearing flip flops everyday
Things I don’t like:
The heat
The humidity
Did I mention the humidity?
Frizzy hair
Our electric bill because of the a/c that I can’t live without
Mosquitos
LOL, Nellie…Haband shorts…:-)
The start of “Little Baristanet”.
I loved the heat and my a**-kicking garden. Hate the four wheeled boom boxes.
Nellie, that would be Haband shorts, knee high black socks, brown loafers, XXL polyester Hawaiian shirt, camera, RayBan sunglasses, 64 oz soda with plastic dome lid, 5 o’clock shadow, evergreen scented bug repellent, and a baseball hat.
Then there’s the wife…and the kids….
LOL, Spiro
Oh, Spiro, that is true sex.