Cruel Summer

I'm not talking about the serious events that pervade our newspapers and newscasts, but the heat that the state of Texas has been dealing with. My mother-in-law warned me that summers in this part of the state can been scorching, and she's right. We may be a mere 80 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, but that tropical sun beats down hard here. Add the occasional days of high humidity and it's downright miserable. We've had very little rain over the past few months, so the ground is dry, the grass is going brown and brittle, and I don't see kids playing outside like I would expect. Even my next door neighbor has been keeping his 4-year old son inside despite their little above-ground swimming pool and shade trees. It is just too hot to do much of anything except sit and drink plenty of ice water.

This afternoon, I was thinking of the song, "Cruel Summer," by Bananarama. I decided it was time to do a little cleaning inside the family minivan. I cleaned out our vehicle under a 92F sky with full sun. The heat index was 97F. Needless to say, I definitely worked up a sweat. I wanted to get this done now so that I wouldn't have it taking up some precious down-time tonight. My mother-in-law will be picking up my son in a few hours to keep him for an overnight stay. I get a mommy's night off! I don't get my boy back until tomorrow afternoon. I fully plan on taking care of some decorating in the master bedroom, taking a shower after being out in the heat, and lounging around till tomorrow morning, when I must sing for church choir. The movie of choice is "Pretty Woman," and I have California Pizza Kitchen's Mediterranean Pizza on the menu. I rarely get nights off, so this is to be savored!