… And the Living Is Easy!

Many married couples have fundamental disagreements about politics, child-rearing, money. My husband and I have our share of those, to be sure, but biggest ideological difference concerns summer (aka the best season ever).

I love summer, from the first juicy peach of June to the last sticky night in September. I love the long days; the shimmering heat; the thick, soupy mornings; the heavy air at nighttime. I love the beach and berry-picking and carnival rides and Fourth of July fireworks. I love the smell of sunscreen; I love dripping ice cream cones; I love cool hunks of watermelon; I love sudden thunderstorms.

My husband does not like summer, not even a little bit and especially not in New Orleans. 

“You can’t even think of one good thing?” I wheedled.

“Tomatoes,” he said. 

“Anything else?”

“No.”

So I asked my kids – both summer-lovers like me – to name five things they loved about summer.

Ruby:

1. Lemonade. I love lemons, so this is my favorite thing to drink. It tastes good, and it cools you down. Plus, sometimes we have lemonade stands and make a ton of cash.
2. No homework! Homework is dumb.
3. No school! School isn’t dumb, but it’s hard. And all the kids in my neighborhood go to different schools, but in the summer, we all get to play together, and that’s fun.
4. Swimming. I love swimming, and I think I’m going to love water-skiing when I go to camp.
5. Grilling outside, like hot dogs or grilled chicken or barbecue. Eating it – not cooking it. I love to eat that stuff, but I’m not going to stand outside in the heat and cook over a fire – I’m not crazy.

Georgia:

1. I like P.E. at camp. Today, we measured ourselves. I am very tall.
2. I like that we get to eat ice cream because it's chocolate. Chocolate is my favorite.
3. Also I like vanilla ice cream, too.
4. Swimming is fun because I bring my floaties, and I want a round thing I can put my body in. Can I? Can I get one please?
5. Last but not least, I love chocolate ice cream.

Amen, Georgie. Me, too. With two such convincing sets of reasons – plus tomatoes! – how can anyone  not like summer?