June 21.

It's the first day of summer!

Whatever.

Yeah, yeah, I know - I said how great it was that it's summer because I get to go to the film festival. And it is nice to wear some of the clothes I haven't worn for several months. When I get to go to the lake, that's cool, too.

But really, summer just doesn't have the excitement attached that it did when I was a kid. Remember how great it was when you got finished with that last day of school, and you were off for 3 whole months??? That was awesome.

I don't know what your summers looked like, but mine were filled with going to the pool, and hanging out with friends, and riding my bike. We had a teenage babysitter one summer and ate frozen pizza almost everyday until I didn't want it again for years. I painted the columns on our front porch one year as an assigned chore, and I remember dragging this heavy-ass portable TV out onto the porch so I could watch/listen to reruns of Alice while I toiled. I slept in, went to Astroworld, got a tan (God willing I won't have the melanoma to show for it). One year, MTV showed The Monkeys all summer, and I got obsessed with that - who do I have a crush on - Mike? Peter? Definitely not Mickey. (And yes, I was aware that each of them in real life was my dad's age - I just put that out of my head.) We cleaned a friend's car out one fine summer day, and it led to the first time I caught my hair on fire (yes, it's happened more than once). There were also all the great family vacations - Colorado in the camper. Truly, the good old days.

So, forgive me if I don't really look at summer with the same zeal now that I used to. Somehow, sitting at a desk, working all day, looking out the window at people in their shorts, with their kids, on vacation and out of school, and listening to my teacher friend talk about her two months off, just doesn't conjure up the same excitement I once had.

Oh well. At least I have great memories. Good life. Back to work (sigh)...