When I woke up today I had one glorious thought: Summer is here.
Our days are 16 hours long, with sunrise this morning at 5:11 AM and sunset at 9:10 PM. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and the temperature is up to 66°F (19°C).
Wait, what? That’s right, mid-60s are enough for me to feel like it’s summer here. I woke up this morning and pulled out our lawn mower, to attack the ridiculously tall grass in our garden. Halfway through I could feel my cheeks turning red, and by end I was sweating. I promptly came inside and opened all the windows in the house.
I admit it doesn’t feel like my childhood summers. Those were characterized by nearly 100% humidity and temperatures blazing around 90°F (or sometimes higher). Skirts or shorts with tank tops and ponytails were the norm, and nobody liked leather upholstery because you’d have to peel your skin off it to stand up. In the afternoons, we’d run around outside and then escape to cool off in the basement, or the library’s air-conditioning, or the public pool.
As I sit here thinking about it, the breeze coming through the room feels a little bit cooler. Maybe it isn’t really summer yet. Maybe I’ll just go take a walk on this gorgeous spring afternoon.
Expat Linguist 