Top 20 Things I Love About the Summer

My birthday is on the first day of summer.  As a kid I always loved the summer:  the ice cream truck, the sprinklers outside, popsicles, summer dresses and lots and lots of sunshine.  Summer birthdays were always cool too. My mother couldn’t keep me inside and always complained that I smelled like grass when I came in.  Fast forward 20 years from then, after having two children in the summer, as an adult I came to loathe the summer heat, sweat and the annoyance of mosquitoes.  Since I started gardening, it has really brought me back to that special place in my life when I loved being outdoors.  Here are the top 20 things I love about the summer:

• Gardening, Gardening, Gardening!
• Open toes!  I love wearing sandals or no shoes at all
• Lightning bugs
• Grilled food, barbecues and cookouts…The wonderful smell of charcoal
• More sun.  Remember sunlight produces Vitamin D!
• Longer days make you feel like there is more time in the day
• Ice cream, slurpees and popsicles finally feel right
• 4th of July
• Reading outside with a tall glass of lemonade
• Vacations
• Road trips
• Air drying your clothes
• Patio and deck parties or just being able to lay out on your deck
• Light clothing and linens….Sundresses, shorts, and bare arms
• Air conditioning and fans.  The feeling of cool air when you walk in your front door
• Swimming, going to the pool or the lake
• No school
• Nature.  The sounds of birds singing, crickets and the smell of fresh flowers
• Peaches, plums, grapes, cantelopes and watermelon
• Sending the kids outside to play while you open the windows and make the house smell lemony fresh 🙂

Happy summer!!!!!