As Summer Moves Into Fall

Never could I have ever imagined when I was younger, that I would at some point be counting the days until summer was over.

Summer was ALWAYS my season.

We were on the beach by the end of March or early April (maybe in not so warm conditions, but we were there) and perfectly tanned by the end of April. A co-worker and co-sun worshipper used to say:

“You realize, by the time we are 40, we are going to be nothing but leather and teeth”. When you are in your 20’s you really could care less or think about what you will look like in your 40’s.

As I got older – still worshiping the sun, I did take better care to use sunscreen.

The heat never bothered me. I could walk for miles in any kind of heat and it was never a big deal. I remember on one of my marathon walks, during a heatwave more than one person stopping me to tell me that it was just too hot to be out walking. It never bothered me.

DC always loved to swim.

All vacation destinations were somewhere warm and beachy.

Fall/Autumn meant Halloween (a good thing) but other than that, only meant that winter was on the way.

It’s amazing how things have changed.

My Listicle about the changing of the seasons is a bit different from what it would have been even 5 years ago:

  1. DC who is more and more annoyed with the Air Conditioner (“Hair-dish-on”) over the past few years, is getting antsy for it to come out.
  2. DC, who works outdoors and in a greenhouse is at the end of his rope with the morning bug spray and sunscreen application.
  3. DC, who hates to wear shorts, is already getting anxious to have his long pants back (It is still HOT here so that will not be happening soon)
  4. DC decided he did not love the water as much as he used to.
  5. Mid-August through the end of September have been difficult for DC over the past few years because of all of the above and because there is a limit to just how much he can take of all of the above.
  6. Fall is now MY Season. Once it cools down a bit, I might just venture outside once in a while.
  7. I wish the Autumn season was a little bit longer. I feel as if we are losing it as we have lost any resemblance of Spring over the last few years. The weather goes from Cold to Hot and really not too much “Spring” in-between. Summer seems to go on much longer than it did and is really starting to  taking a bite out of the Fall season.
  8. Our favorite “holiday” comes in the Fall – the one thing that has not changed over the years.
  9. We try to schedule vacations now, closer to home and with no beaches involved.
  10.  I am no longer “One with the Heat”.

*************

This is a Listicle Friday post. It’s the Week 2, of the old school blogging, prompt for the Finish the Sentence Friday writing community where I’m co-hosting with Kristi Campbell of Finding Ninee. This week we are sharing “10 things about the changing of the seasons”.

 

 

The “Hair-dish-on” is back…… already!

Doug left for his trip to Egypt today. This would be his second attempt to see Egypt; the first time was via cruise but the stop was removed due to the turmoil that was going on there at the time. Before he left, he decided to look at the forecast here over the next few weeks. He saw that it is supposed to hit 80 degrees in a few days. This would not have occurred to me since here in New England, we had 3 days of snow just last week, but it occurred to him to check it out (thankfully!). He knows me and he knows that I would not survive 80 degrees without the air-conditioner. Really, I would not. Living in “Hot-Flash” hell for the past 12 years (cruel and unusual punishment), I have the windows open all winter and still have to run out and stand on the front porch at times.

Really, I would not survive……

So…. he came over before he left for the airport to put my air-conditioners in!

Everybody say “Awww”.

No, Really – say it.

DC, on the other hand is not a fan – more so now that they stay in longer and longer as each year passes.

Below is a post from August 2017; when DC started looking forward to the “Hair-dish-on” coming out along with a few Facebook statuses on the subject (because this is an ongoing issue). He did not know he still had a few months to wait…

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

It was very early in August and I could not believe that DC seemed to be getting excited about the last day of camp as if he was willing it to be over. He loves camp and I did not understand why he wanted it to end so badly.

He started saying “This week, the last day of camp? Camp is over?” on Thursday the 4th.
I told him he had the following day and next week left.

“Next week, last day of camp? Camp is over?”

Yes, You went today and you will go tomorrow then Thursday and Friday next week. Next Friday is the last day. 

I was confused because he loves camp so I tried to get him to tell me why he wanted camp to be over. Wasn’t he having fun?

“Yes, DC is having fun with my friends”

So I gave him a choice…

DC would you rather to to ARC (work) or Camp?

“DC want to go to Camp, see my friends”

Do you like camp? You don’t have to go if you don’t like it any more.

“Yes, like camp. Fun with friends”

Let me just break here to explain that although DC understands the seasons, he cannot always tell you that July is summer or September or October is fall. Summer is HOT. Winter is COLD – so if we happen to be in Florida in January, it is summer – in his mind. He knows the seasons and the months that go with them by memory, not by understanding. They do not always make sense to him and when he is not concentrating or has something else on his mind he goes by the weather, period.

This week he started asking me about the last day of camp again and added “Summer is over”.
I told him that camp would be over on Friday but summer would not be over for a few more weeks.

He looked very disappointed by that.

It was then, as he stood there staring at the air conditioner and looking forlorn about summer not ending on Friday, that I realized what was going on in his head.

Someone at camp must have mentioned the end of summer. DC got it into his head that summer was over on the last day of camp.

DC hates the air conditioner. He thought he would be getting rid of it earlier this year because he heard and believed that the end of summer THIS year would be the last day of camp.

He must have been excited thinking he would be getting a break earlier than usual. As per the conversation we had before someone mentioned camp being the end of summer – he was looking at October as the end of the air conditioning. No wonder he looked so disappointed when I told him there was still more summer ahead…

<From Facebook Status 8/1/17 (before his end of camp/summer assumption)>

I know the air conditioner bothers DC but I usually don’t hear about it after the first few weeks after it goes in (it went in, in April) – Today is August 1st aka #CalendarFlipDay and after flipping all of the calendars, DC said…
DC: My ‘Hair-dish-on’ out in October
Me: What?
DC: ‘Hair-dish-on’ out at Halloween. 
Me: (wondering why he is talking about Halloween)
I don’t know what you mean.
‘DC: ‘Hair-dish-on’ FAN out at Halloween!
Me: Ohhhhhh, the Air Conditioner! October or November, okay?
DC: October
(He’s hoping that the air conditioner is out by Halloween. He knows that removing the A/C is NOT a decision I make lightly or early.) I guess even though he might stop talking about it after the first few weeks after it goes in; it still bothers him.
He’s looking for the light at the end of the tunnel – and even if it’s two months away; he wants to know it’s coming.
#WishfullThinking #IsItHotInHereOrIsItJustMe

———

I really do feel for him but I can’t take them out early. I can’t do it… I just can’t:

<From Facebook Status >

I can’t say “shopping for a bathing suit” is on my list of  “Seven Things I Hate About Summer” because I just don’t do that….. haven’t owned one in years..

Number 1-7 for me THESE DAYS are:
1. IT’S HOT! 
2. It’s too hot
3. Why is it this hot?
4. I can’t take this heat!
5. Holy S&%#! I am not going out there!
6. I AM ON FIRE!!
7. IT’S Too #$&%in’ HOT!

#IsItHotInHereOrIsItJustMe
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
(you can pretty much count on hearing all of the above year round from me, though)

——–
<Facebook Status >

DC: Mom, Fan, Flapping, whoo, Mom, Flap like bird. 
***
(DC pointing out that my “I’m sweating to death” episodes include some of my very own “Flapping” …. Seriously, that’s kind of amazing that he’s made that connection…) 
#IsItHotInHereOrIsItJustMe

——–
<Facebook Status>

#IsItHotInHereOrIsItJustMe enough said…

——-
<Facebook Status >

 Dc wakes up in the middle of the night (yes, it’s 50 degrees and yes, I have both air conditioners running at the coldest temperatures) –
DC:”Mom! The Fan is Freezing!” – from the boy who never seems affected by heat or cold. 
DC: “Mom! Turn it off!”
Me: “DC, I’m sorry but I can not do that. You will have to use another blanket”
I will do just anything for this child, except turning the AC off.
#IsItHotInHereOrIsItJustMe

*****


I wonder where he gets that?? (A reenactment, of course) 
#IsItHotInHereOrIsItJustMe

——–
As you can see, this is not an issue that is new and does not look as if it will be resolved any time soon (unfortunately for the both of us)….

I am very soon off to bed armed with ice pack, my cooling pillow and the A/C set at “ultimate freeze” ~

Here’s to looking forward to the “end of summer”.
*****

~ Originally posted at Take Another Step – Life with DC

Also see: “Hair-Dish-On” is Gone (the official end of summer)