July is the king of the summer months. June seems to get summer going, but it is unpredictable. There are still some cool days and normally some rain. But June is not celebrated as the standout month of summer. That honor goes to July. That may make sense to our neighbors up North, but being from South Carolina, I’m not so sure it should be that way.
We don’t appreciate June for what it is, warm and sometimes actually hot days, but you can still get outside and enjoy some activities. But for some reason we can’t wait for July to get here so we can have some real summer.
Like the pain of childbirth that they say is soon forgotten, so is the heat and humidity of July. Now, before I go any further, I want to address that “pain of childbirth” comment. I have never actually given birth to a child. I was only involved in the preliminaries, and honestly that was not that bad. But I have had more than one mother voice the opinion that she can remember every second of that pain and will never forget it until the day she goes to meet the Lord. I haven’t looked up the origin of that famous saying, but I hazard to guess that the phrase was coined by a man. I only used that phrase as a reference I felt like most people could understand.
The point is, July in this part of the country is always hotter than the devil’s butt crack. Going outside is like a punishment. By the middle of July, the air conditioner has given up. There is no cool to be pulled out of that 102-degree thing we call air. The stuff when you take it in scorches your lung like you were vaping kerosene.
And that is when a lot of us, me for one, go on vacation. I’m not sure why but our family always chooses not to go up to the mountains seeking a small break from the oppressive summer heat. We travel even further south to a white sand beach in the Gulf. Where that beautiful white sand takes all of the skin off your feet after you take 7 steps. Where if you are not crouched under the umbrella, you will be burned to a crisp. Every thirty minutes you make a mad dash to the comfort of the ocean, that is the temperature of a fairly warm bath.
And when we get back, we tell everyone that asks that we had a great time and the weather was perfect.
Here is the weird part. After almost suffering a heat stroke, driving 9 hours one way, and spending a ton of money eating overpriced seafood, we can’t wait to do it again next year.
Maybe I’ll start a new saying, instead of the pain of child birth being soon forgotten, it will be like the pain of a July beach vacation.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!! Love Y’all!!
Lamar
