Summer arrived with a vengeance this week. The yo-yo of Spring’s pleasant, then hot, then pleasant again weather has settled into simply sweltering. Though my disdain of Summer has lessened over the past two years, I still get a little bummed out knowing that we’re in for 95+ degree days from now until late October. Not to mention the 105 degree/100 percent humidity days of July and August that are just around the corner. After two months of lingering on the porch, playing in the garden and wallowing in the sun, I always feel a bittersweet sadness when I finally admit that uncomfortable sweat will be a daily battle from here on out, and my hair will be in a perpetual bun for the next four months. I won’t even get into the terror that will be my electric bill from my air conditioner’s futile attempts to keep my 100 year-old home tolerable…that’s the stuff of nightmares.

To combat my dread of Louisiana’s perpetual heat and humidity, I am trying to remind myself of some of the things I love about summer. A “psych myself up” plan, if you will:

• Lake Days!!! What’s better on a lazy summer weekend than a trip to the lake? It’s a cheap way to get the kids out of the house and active.
• J’s new home includes a pool, within walking distance of her fridge full of cocktails.
• What’s better than a fresh, ripe, homegrown tomato? I can’t wait to make Gran’s fresh tomato dip, tomato pie and a smoked Gouda, bacon and tomato sandwich.
• I get to sleep an hour later, since I don’t have to take the heathens to school at the butt-crack.
• More grilling! I love my grill more than my husband does, and I am always looking for a good excuse to heat it up, rather than my kitchen.
• Summer reading, trips to the library and sitting by the pool with a great book…assuming the heathens stop trying to drown each other long enough for me to read a page.
• Holiday planning—I always try to get the jump on holiday planning and shopping during summer, because I have more time to think and imagine.

I may not be able to escape of suffocating heat in the months to come, but I will do my darndest to look on the bright side and enjoy it.

Besides, I have a stack of coupons for antiperspirant, I like within five minutes of a drive-up daiquiri, and I can always slap on my NSU cap if the hair situation gets too bad.