The other side of the story ...

Marlene Terry

No doubt summer has arrived with temperatures for the past several days in the triple digits.

There's a lot to say about summer. And believe me when I tell you I've heard it all. Summer is a favorite season for many and some of us dream about those warm weather activities from January until summer is actually upon us.

"There's just so much more to do," a friend commented recently. 

"It makes me feel so alive and anxious to do things," said another.

... And I ask, WHAT THINGS?

Here's one top ten list from a blog entitled I Love Summer:

1.  Fun rides down the slide at the water park.

2.  Hammocks.

3.  Evening walks without flashlights or a jacket.

4.  Almost no schools zones.

5.  Shorts and flip flops.

6.  Grilled hamburgers.

7.  A hot Saturday afternoon, with me asleep on the couch.

8. The Fourth of July and Labor Day.

9. The sound of fireworks.

10.Kids outdoors in the middle of the day, middle of the week and having the time of their lives.

And even though those words really do paint a lovely picture and bring back wonderful memories for me as well. there is always, as they say, TWO SIDES to every story.

So without further ado. Here's my top 10 list of things I DON'T like about summer:

1. Going to work wearing a light jacket and wishing you'd put on your snowsuit.

2.  The effort needed to keep kids happy, busy and not bored.

3.  Falling asleep on the patio lounge and waking up with a third degree sunburn.

4.  Weeds.

5.  Dull lawnmower blades that shoot large, hard clumps of petrified grass through windows.

6.  Flies, spiders, earwigs and mosquitoes.

7.  Weeds.

8.  Tube tops, shorts and flip flops on people who should NEVER WEAR tube tops, shorts and flip flops.

9.   Loud obnoxious neighbors who used to be that way ... INSIDE!

... And of course

10. Weeds.

Hope the week ahead proves to be for you, one that is filled with many more activities from the first list ... with the exception of weeds of course ... which we all know sprout up overnight and in places we haven't even thought of yet!

♦ Hope you'll let me share your stories and photos here at my new residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com.