Every year, I vow to take advantage of summer. I will stay outside in the long evenings, I tell myself, watching the fireflies, watching the moon, watching the slow slide of hot July days slipping into warm July nights. We will eat supper on the porch, and then sit out in the yard, listening to baseball on the radio until it’s time to go to sleep. I will pull weeds, I will prune, I will pick berries, I will forget about “inside the house.”

And then, every year, I end up spending an inane amount of time indoors, in air conditioning, grateful but hateful!

I really don’t like air conditioning, though these past few weeks, I have appreciated it. And honestly, at least one of our dogs would be dead now, were it not for A/C. She barely made it through, with it.

This terribly hot summer has not been a total indoor waste. I painted outdoors during this torrid stretch – my attic studio was just unbearable.

I did three outdoor shows, too. And talk about a steamy way to make a living! The sun bounces off the pavement, heats up the air inside the little tent, and you just can’t take in enough fluid to stay hydrated. Setting up and taking down the display is worth a week at the gym.

This morning, as I write, it’s cool and dry, and I feel like myself. Soon enough, all the nights will be cool, and soon enough, the days will be cool, too, and I will look back at summer and feel a little sad that once again, July and I passed each other, with barely a nod.