In the good old summertime

Jess, our in house creative writing teacher, has issued an assignment

20 things I love about summer

1. flip flops
2. running through the sprinkler
3. going out for ice cream
4. cooking and eating outside
5. jumping into the pool on a hot summer day
6. water fights
7. popsicles
8. sitting on the porch in my parent's RI home
9. falling asleep to the sound of the waves in my parent's RI home
10. summer salads
11. sipping cold lemonade in the sun
12. daylight till 9:00 pm
13. fresh local fruit and vegies
14. dips in the pond after dinner
15. going from pj's to bathing suit and back to pj's
16. catching fireflies on the beach
17. blond highlights in my 2 year olds hair
18. freckles on my 7 year olds nose (and don't worry, I do apply sunscreen)
19. picnics on the beach
20. spending lazy afternoons at the beach searching for sea glass

20 things I hate about summer

1. it ends way too soon
2. mosquitoes
3. ticks
4. all the towels, bathing suits and picnic blankets make for a lot more laundry
5. those days when it's so hot you can feel your skin melting
6. sand in my food when on a beach picnic
7. sunburns
8. having to bathe the kids every single day because they've gotten so dirty I can't let it slide a day or so
9. trying to come up with yet another meal that does not require cooking
10. the smell of bug spray
11. trying to get a wet bathing off and back on for a pool potty break (the kids especially, but me too I guess)
12. sweating
13. hot cars that have been closed up in the sun
14. playground slides that get as hot as an oven and you don't realize that until after you've pushed your kid down
15. humidity
16. me having to wear a bathing suit...oh, the horror!
17. sweaty feet
18. pavement or sand that gets so hot it burns my feet to walk on it
19. water in my ears
20. the huge bugs that gather on my door when I come home at night who are just waiting for me to attempt to get into my house so they can swarm around me and get in my hair and I freak out waving and flapping my hands and arms, screeching at the top of my lungs