Coming Down With Summer Fever

Right around this time of year, I start to get itchy with that “end of the school year” fever. Do you remember that feeling from when you were a kid? I’m anxious for a vacation–some kind of wandering to see new places. Long days filled with family excursions and hanging out with a good book. Summer just can’t seem to come soon enough.

What’s hilarious to me though is that I don’t really like summer. Here in DC it’s hot and sticky. The air quality gets bad and they start warning you to stay inside as much as you can. And the bugs. Every summer, I thank God that I wasn’t born in Colonial times when the hot, sticky, and buggy was here but we weren’t blessed with air conditioning (and women had to wear all those skirts! And corsets! No wonder they fainted all the time!)

Maybe what it is is a simple need for a vacation. I don’t think at this point that the family has any plans for a summer vacation. My husband is going on a business trip to California for two weeks in June. I looked at going with him and taking the kids to Disney Land and Hearst Castle and all the other fun places that you can get to when you’re in LA. And I nearly died at the airfare. I get that it’s a long flight but…wow. Just wow. So we won’t be joining him.

We may try and do a little mini-vacation somewhere nearby. But the question becomes when. June is basically taken care of with that business trip. July? July is hot. August is worse. And sure, most likely wherever we go will have A/C. Still…it’s the principle. I know you’re probably thinking, “Duh! Go to the beach.” But…I hate the beach. I burn too easily, or break out in even more freckles. Throw in all that sand and the crowds and the worry about small children being swept out to sea or dashed into the rocks? No thanks. (We may end up spending a day at the beach anyway. I realize I can’t completely deprive the kids of the shore simply because of my preference. Still, there’s no week at the beach in my top 100 list of favorite vacations.)

So give me some inspiration. What are your summer plans? Are you looking forward to anything in particular?