Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Summer is the cruelest month

It's carnival time over at One More Thing, and today's topic is one that's been on my mind the past few weeks - Summer. Why? Because I.HATE.SUMMER.IN.AUSTIN.

I hate it, there's no other way to put it. I hate the heat, the days on end with blistering sun and white-hot skies, the Ozone Action days that cause migraines and asthma flare-ups.

I really and truly believe I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder in the summers. I get depressed and hate having to leave the house. My running, which has a tremendous effect on my mental health, always suffers in the summer heat, which makes me feel even worse.

Right now, the weather in Austin is spectacular. (Well, not today - we're supposed to have storms.) The mornings are cool and the air just feels good. And as much as I love the springs here, I know they are harbingers of the heat to come.

If I ever win the lottery, which would require my actually buying a lottery ticket, the first thing I'm going to do is buy a summer home in the Adirondacks. I know it can be cool and rainy in the summer up north, and my mom swears that it snowed during a camping trip in July in New York, but I'll take cool and rainy with a chance of snow any day over 100+ degree heat for weeks on end.

We have lots of resources here in Austin to escape the heat. The city is rife with pools, but the idea of loading everyone into a hot car to go somewhere just exhausts me.

So I tend to hibernate inside with the AC cranked up to 11 and deal with whiny frustrated kids who seem to be impervious to the heat. Perhaps they don't mind the heat because they're native Texans, while I am, as my husband likes to remind me, merely a Yankee.

Until the heat arrives, I'll be spending as much time outside as I can and throwing the windows of the house open wide, enjoying the cool spring air while I can.

10 comments:

calicobebop said...

I'm with you - Summer Sucks. Here in VAB it's not as hot as TX I'm sure, but it's still hot enough to melt my brain and frazzle my temper. I look forward to the first cool breeze of autumn for months. Just like I look forward to the first warm breeze of spring for months... Maybe I'm just a "transitional" season kind of girl.

the mama bird diaries said...

I love the summer but i guess that's because i live on the east coast. 100 degrees for weeks on end sounds pretty miserable.

Shelly said...

I don't mind summer in Austin. That cold, rainy weather we had last week makes me miserable. I hate being cold, I hate being stuck inside. I just want to put on my flip-flops and take the kids outside to play. I know the weeks on end of 100+ can get to be a little much, but then you can park yourself in the shallow end of Deep Eddy until you pickle.

Spring is the best, though! Cool mornings, the afternoons are not too hot. Open the windows and enjoy the fresh air for as long as you can!

Unknown said...

well buy a ticket because my sister's amazing craftsman cottage in Saranac Lake is on the market and it's CHEAP! Summers there are nice, yes. Summers in Alaska are amazing too.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I don't see us moving seriously south, ever. I do OK in the heat, not impervious or basking in it, but it doesn't make me insane. Willem, though - it makes him insane.

So we stay in New England. Once upon a time, I'd have offered to buy the place next door in the Adirondacks, because I spent every summer of my childhood in Old Forge, but since then I've gotten all estranged and stuff from that side of the family. Alas.

Anonymous said...

I am RIGHT. THERE. WITH YOU. I mean, I'm not, not any more. But I spent 6 years of my 20s in the desert cities of Arizona and I hated summer, every last stinking hot breath of it. When I finally made it back east of the Mississippi, I didn't even buy a coat the first winter, I was so thrilled to feel the cold. And yes, when you depend on exercise for mental health, heat is a serious impediment. Right there with you, again.

Good luck soldiering through it.

Baino said...

Snap. . I hate the heat of summer. From December to March it's swealtering most of the time and I have no aircon . . .price of being a tree hugging hippy . . .thank God for the pool and work!

Cathy said...

I hear you--summers in CO can be very hot, and by midday you can only go to the pool, which is exhausting with kids. Fortunately, we don't have humidity, which makes it a million times worse.

Janice said...

I get SAD in the spring (hence my most recent post). Summers in NY ain't much but at least we have beaches.

Unknown said...

You might have Summer SAD. If you want to vent or learn more take a gander at my Summer SAD site: www.summersad.ning.com (a fellow Summer SAD suffer in Los Angeles ;-)