Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

swimming

Savoring summer

It’s August now. What happened to summer? We had all these plans to make this summer memorable, and while we were able to make a few of those memories in June, July with its oppressive heat confined us to the comforts of air conditioning with our new best friend, Dora.

It’s August, but it’s not too late. Still plenty of time to squeeze the life out of summer. We’re making the next 30 or so days count. So begins our quest to save summer.

We start in Illinois. As you can see, the kids have wasted no time jumping in to summer activities.

Though neither of them are wearing swim pants in this picture, I’m confident we’re going to run through the stash we brought with us. Swimming is almost all Isabelle can talk about right now.

Not to be outdone by summer fun, my husband, his sister, our brother-in-law and I stole away while the kids were napping to the Amboy Pharmacy with its old-fashioned soda fountain to have an array of Green River treats — two Green River floats and a Green River milkshake. No bottled Green River, though. Not even the friendly staff at the Pharmacy could tell us where to find it.

Such a pity. It was a favorite drink of ours when my husband and I were dating. I can’t really explain what it tastes like, only that I like it and so far, Amboy is the only place I know to get it. May have to add it to our tour of food when we come home for visits.

To further our spontaneity and memory making, we decided to indulge in the penny candy (well, most of it cost 5 or 10 cents, but still …). The Pharmacy has this fantastic selection of loose candy you can hand select and purchase individually. We were all a litte giddy, like kids in a candy store (har, har, har), filling our little brown bags with our sugary selections, counting out our change like we were 10 and spending all the money we had. My husband and his sister recalled the many times their grandma would send them to the Pharmacy with a handful of change to buy whatever they wanted. The only restriction, they said, was candy cigarettes. They weren’t allowed to come home with those.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I’m pretty excited about this week in Illinois and a few fun things we have planned when we get back to Pennsylvania. Stay tuned.

If you can’t stand the heat …

… move to Alaska, or Maine, or Canada. The temperature hit 99 today. Ugh. And it’s supposed to be in the 90s all week. Given that I’m not all that fond of double-digit snowfalls and below-zero temperatures either, I’m thinking that moving north would not improve my discontent with the weather.

I don’t tolerate heat well, and I think my children are following somewhat. Whenever the temperature is high and the humidity likewise, our house seems less of a happy home. We’re more tired and less patient, eager to be outside but unwilling to roast our pale complexions in the sun. I’m the most guilty. I determined this morning to not turn the air conditioner on until it was absolutely necessary and by 3 p.m., it was. The damage to my mood was done by then. Isabelle wanted to go outside and do chalk, which I finally consented to at 5:45 p.m. The temperature at that point was at its highest, but my husband kindly withheld that information. Nobody wanted to eat much dinner, especially if it was warm in any way.

Does this happen in anyone else’s house?

And today’s only Monday. Anticipating that the heat/mood problem will likely worsen as the week goes on, I’m trying to think of ways to stay cool. Here’s my list so far:

Head to the mall. Isabelle can run free in A/C while I push Corban in the stroller. Downside: I’d be tempted to buy something with money we don’t have.

Phone a friend, especially one with a pool, wading or otherwise, or even a sprinkler. Our otherwise mostly perfect rental home has no outside hose hookup. I’m told sprinklers make just about anything better.

Liquid diet. Popsicles, milkshakes, smoothies … a brain freeze sounds pretty good right about now. Downside: Extra calories and sugar. Although maybe I’ll sweat enough to counteract it.

Indoor picnic. Lunch on a blanket in the living room, the coolest room in the house because the window air conditioner lives there.

Any other ideas? We’re talking inexpensive (free if possible), creative and fun ways to beat the heat with a 2-year-old and a 7-month-old, with or without leaving the house.

Help, please! Before I pack up our stuff and head north!