Summer Time Blues

I realize my last few posts have been on the negative side. Summer is not my favorite time of year. I don't tolerate heat well (must be where my daughter gets it) and the non-stop childcare wears me down. By the end of July I'm worn out, but we still have one more month to get through.

However, my days aren't terrible. Queen Teen and I are muddling through, taking each day hour by hour, and finding a way not to drive each other too crazy. We take our dog Bourre out for walks each morning, heading downtown to window shop and watch the city wake up. We stop for a drink at a cafe where Bourre rests under a shady tree to watch the people walk by. Then we head home before the heat gets too intense and Queen Teen usually stretches out on her bed and watches a movie on her video player (Arthur is her favorite, or Berenstain Bears) while I do a little housework. We have lunch, and then I think of something to do to get us out of the house: going to the library, visiting a friend, shopping at Big Lots, grocery shopping, seeing a movie... anything that gobbles up a couple of hours and is air conditioned. Then when the afternoon heat becomes mind-numbing, we go home and hide in the house. She likes to watch another movie and I like to surf the net or play the Sims. We play a game or draw pictures before dinner, then after dinner she takes a bath. Before bed she likes to play with her dolls or we read books. Then at 8:00 she has yogurt and goes to bed where she reads more books until 9:00. Once she's in bed I tell myself I'm going to write but my brain is usually too weary so I watch a movie (right now I'm re-watching the Firefly series. Shiny!).

Our days are slow, but not intolerable. Despite Queen Teen's frequent outbursts of frustration, we have fun. We sing songs and tease each other, laugh at silly jokes, play with the dog and discuss topics such as how interesting it is that small dogs have to walk faster than big dogs (we talked about that today). I'm lucky I can spend this time with my daughter because next summer I'll probably be working. No more leisurely summer days when I finish school.

So then why do I get such horrible Summer time blues?