Perfect Weather

I would be weird for me not to mention the weather, so I guess I'll get that out of the way right now.

This has been the best summer in St. Louis . . . ever. My first full summer here was 1997 and my car didn't have air conditioning so I rolled down the windows and sweated my way from May through September.

Each summer after that seemed progressively hotter. Last summer it was so hot and there were so many bugs around that I didn't want to leave the house. Hustling the girls from the front door to the car earned us mosquito bites. It was like living in a jungle. A few of the whiny little pests (I do not mean my children) inevitably made it into the van, so I'd be swerving all over the road while swatting at them. Miserable.

This year, I prepared myself for the worst . . . and have yet to find it. This spring was amazing. So beautiful! How have I never noticed all the flowering things around me? How have I never enjoyed this time of warmth and sunshine and pretty new growth and sweet smells and few bugs? I concentrated on soaking it all in, preparing for a long, hot summer of hating nature.

But now it's late July and it's still wonderful. There are bugs, alas, but not nearly so many as last year. One day last fall, Ada and I were out dragging sticks to the curb for yard waste pickup day. We worked for less than an hour, right smack in the middle of the day, and still got eaten alive by mosquitoes. This year she and I have each had one bite; Ellie's had none. And we've been outside a lot more.

It's not just the bugs, either. It's the weather! June was lovely. July is when it gets really bad, I keep reminding myself. Right when my in laws visit from Wyoming. That might still happen - they come next week - but it's been downright cool here all month.

There was some intense heat for a brief period in late June, starting just before we left for vacation in Michigan. Perfect timing! Since then, it's mostly been in the 70's during the day. Ellie's swimming lesson was moved to the indoor pool yesterday because it was too cold outside. When we do go swim in the mornings, we have the place almost to ourselves. We left the park early tonight because Ada was looking chilly in her short sleeves and skirt. (Ellie was OK in long pants.) When I walk after dark, I'm sometimes cool until I start to work up a sweat.

So, yeah, a weather post that involved no dramatic weather. I just want to go on record with how wonderful this year has been, how much I've been enjoying the unseasonably cool weather and taking advantage of it. I'm sure it's possible to write something interesting about pleasant weather that doesn't involve complaining. I just haven't figured it out yet.

Let's just all sit outside in the breeze drinking latte and waiting for the other shoe to drop.