Summertime blues

The other day I had to spend an hour pulling a apart all the melted gummies in the bottom of a jar of vitamins I bought. 

I paid like $10 for the stupid jar and didn't notice that somewhere between the factory and my kitchen cabinet, they turned into a pile of goo at the bottom of the jar.

I didn't want to waste the money, so I painstakingly tried to separate them.  Getting the solidified blob out of the bottom was the hardest part.

They did in fact separate, but they don't look like cars any more.

I'm so done with Summer.

And there's still like a month of "official" summer days left.

And then there is another month after that where I say to myself at least once a day, "Seriously?!?!? How can it still be so hot out?!?  It's Fall for heck's sake!"

You know, when I was in Utah, people would ask when we were going back home to Arizona, and I would tell them around August 1st.  And they would look at me funny, or make a comment, because with a month left of summer, surely I could stay longer. 

Then I would reply that school starts a week after we get back and we need to get the kids ready for that and blah, blah, blah.  To which their reply was,  "Really?!?! That's so early!  Why do they start school so early?"

And then I would mention how hot Arizona is, and there's not much to do, and so why not send the kids back to school a little early, and then take extra time off during the year when the weather is lovely out?  My kids get a week off in the fall, and a week off in the spring, and more time than I ever got at Christmas time... In fact, if it were ever put to a vote, I might actually vote for year round school like one of the neighboring cities here does, with two weeks off in fall, and two weeks off in spring, and like a month in December.

Anyway, I seem to forget all that when the kids are back in school, I start ranting at the temperature display in my car, "Don't you know summer is over?!?! Cool off already, won't you!"

And then I remember that summer isn't actually over, it's just the brand new pencils, and college rule loose leaf paper, and fresh boxes of crayons that fool me into thinking that the start of school and autumn go hand in hand.

I think my low point though was last week, I picked up a couple shifts at the Scholastic warehouse, you know, where I get paid in books to work, and it was so hot and humid and gross.

Besides being hot out, it's monsoon season, which brings humidity and for about a month effectively nullifies that old argument "At least it's a dry heat".

The warehouse was equipped with fans and a swamp cooler, but everyone knows swamp coolers don't work in humidity, so it was fairly yucky there.  Luckily there wasn't much to do.  Customers weren't coming in, and although I asked if there was anything else I could help with, apparently there are very strict rules about what volunteers can and can't do. 

So I just stood there, with nothing to do but think about how my jean capris were sticking to me, and felt totally gross, and that I would feel much better if I just took them off.

Seriously, there was a second or so there where I thought taking my pants off in public was a good idea.

My brain must have been pretty fried, and I think fortunately a stray breeze must have passed my way and brought some sanity with it, because I caught myself in time, but still...

So if anybody asks, fall has my permission to come early.

~~~~~~

"Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do, but there ain't no cure for the summertime blues." - Eddie Cochran