I love the summer....

I love the summer! I love the heat.
I do not love the sweat that pours from every inappropriate spot on my body but I do love the sun that produces the heat that makes me feel warm and reminds me that it isn't the nasty gray winter which I loathe.

I love the water in the summer.
Water that refreshes and gives hydration and tastes better in the summer especially with chunks of lemon and sweet and low. I love the water in the summer. I do love the pool in the summer but only when I find the perfect chaise lounge that is securely located by full-figured women who share my affection for the sun and are relentlessly bold about sharing their bronzed flesh with the world. These ladies are my heroes. They love the water too. They must love summer.

I love my kids home in the summer.
I love my kids when they embrace the flexibility of the schedule meaning they don't care when I leave them unattended for a work-out or a haircut or an errand. When they find ways of entertaining themselves without prompting. I love my kids in the summer when they love being with each other and with the rest of the family. I will miss these days with my kids in the summer. I don't miss the days near the end of summer when they feel the wretch of the school calendar calling them back into routine. I hate the end of the summer when the nights get shorter and the mornings get earlier and I don't get to see my kids as often.

I love grill in the summer.
I love firing up my gas grill and throwing all sorts of meats and veggies out there. I love pretending to know how to grill fish. I love the idea that one of these days I am going to grill the perfect fish. It will surprise me and be delicious and not fishy and nasty and dry. I love the way I use my griddle on the grill. It is such a beautiful contraption that has made me love my grill even more. I do not love the fact that my grill sits directly in the western sun and in July produces lots of the heat that I do love but hate when i sweat from all the not so pretty parts of my body.

I love fresh produce in the summer.
I love to pretend to like all kinds of vegetables in the summer. I love to go to Farmer's Markets and buy produce and imagine myself cooking, chopping, grilling and eating all sorts of vegetables. I love going to the blueberry patch and picking ripe, sweet, crispy blueberries right off of the vine! I love thinking that I am almost a farmer and that the summer is making me healthier and stronger and better.

I love reading books in the summer.
I love that I just read the Shack. I love that I had time to allow the story to steep into my spirit. I love that the book is one that will radically transform my thinking about the Trinity forever.

Ahhh, I love the summer!