Surviving the Heat Wave

With the forecast calling for weather in the high 80’s for this weekend and into next week, my family and I are struggling to keep cool.  Today, we cruised around in my fiancé’s car with the A/C cranked up high.  We wandered around the mall, taking our time to window shop and to allow the kids time to play on the indoor slide.  We even took extra time grocery shopping, just strolling up and down the aisles and savoring each minute spent in the cool air.

These days of high temperatures with high humidity are hard.  Without air conditioning in our home, heat waves can be a disaster.  Tempers get short.  Appetites become minimal.  And we are all left wondering when the heat wave is going to end!

It’s days like these, though, that make me glad that my parents were resourceful when I was young.  When the temperatures start rising I break out the squirt guns, sprinkler, and water balloons and we have a family water battle--just as my parents did when my brother and I were children.  Some of my favorite and happiest memories from my childhood surround those unbearably hot summer days when my parents became children again, launching water balloons and chasing us with an arsenal of squirt guns.

This heat is also the perfect time for enjoying some of our favorite summer joys: making sun tea and homemade popsicles; eating cold watermelon and holding seed spitting contests off the back porch; and having cookouts in the back yard.

The weather may be difficult, but it never fails to bring the family together.  It forces us to slow down, allowing us to notice and cherish the little things in life.  I’ll readily admit I can’t wait until this heat wave is over. However, I’m truly enjoying the extra family time, and I’m honestly looking forward to our first water battle of the season!

I hope all of you who are also experiencing this heat wave stay safe and cool.

So, what are some of your favorite summer memories?