It’s summer time. June is half over, school is out, even summer school has wound down and summer is fully here. It’s a busy time of year.

I have a love/hate relationship with summer. I love summer. I really do. Ok, not really. I actually hate summer. And here are a few reasons why.

It’s hot. Too hot. I know, you’re thinking I’ll miss it when it’s freezing this winter. And I probably will, but right now, it’s just too hot. I don’t like it when it’s hot. I don’t like the muggy humidity. I don’t like sweating. The heat makes it good for such activities as swimming and floating on the rivers, but I can’t think of any other reason why it should be this hot.

The ticks are terrible. Every time I mow the yard, I itch for the next couple of days. Most of the time, it’s phantom itching, because there is nothing there. But just knowing that there may be a tick makes me itch. I mean, frankly, ticks are no big deal to me. I grew up in the country, and have been dealing with them all of my life. And I have to regularly pull a tick or two off one of the kids or the dogs. So they really aren’t that bad. But when they are the seed ticks, the ones so small you can hardly see them, that’s what I really hate.

There are other bugs too. Mosquitoes, flying beetles, wasps, bees, and tons of other insects that think my face is the best place to test their little translucent wings. If not there, then they love my front door, and hang out there every evening, just when I need to go through that doorway. I hate the bugs.

Summer also brings such things as church camp and Vacation Bible School. I really don’t like these types of events (but I love them too). Church camp has all of the things listed above, bugs, ticks, heat and sweating, and you can add little or no sleep to the mix. VBS is the same. It’s such a busy week, and I’m always glad when it is over. Don’t get me wrong, these are both great events for our church and the people in our community. But they are crazy busy weeks.

There are a lot of things I hate about summer. But there is one thing that tops them all….

It’s too short….

It is way too short. As I write this, my oldest daughter is away from home, with my wife, at her college freshman orientation (in June!!!). That means, all too soon, she’ll be moving into her dorm, and summer will be over and she will live in a different town that I do. All too soon, the pool will be closing down and draining the water, and my boys will stop coming home with sunburns and water logged swim trunks. All too soon, the yard won’t be littered with bikes and scooters and toys and sticks and even the occasional article of clothing or shoe. All too soon, the days will shorten, the temps will drop, and we will all be back into the normal routine of busy.

So I guess, I need to stop writing, and go spend some time with my kids, before the summer runs out.

I’ll see you soon.

Be deliberate, Dad!

What do you love most about summertime? What do you hate most about it? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.