Summer

There is one season of the year that I hate, and that is summer! Yes I realize that hate is a very strong word, and should not be just thrown about. I would tell my kiddo that its almost a bad word, that you can strongly dislike something, really dislike but hate has power behind it when used.  Though when it comes to summer, I HATE it. 

As a kid I looked forward to summer to be out of school.  Then there is the fact that my birthday is in the summer. But those two brownie points are just melted ice cream sizzling on the pavement. Not enough to salvage any favor towards this dreaded annual season. Already in may we are reaching the 80 degree mark. Mother Nature do you really have to crank the up the heat so high. You are more than welcome to do so gradually, over the course of the summer months then top out at 80 for a day at the end of July. Certainly that would be much more favorable, but no, you are never open to my suggestions. I am ready to slap the next person that states, oh how much they can't wait for us more heat and that they love summer. (Please use a mocking tone when you read that last line, for that was the inflection I want to convey. ) 

What does summer mean?  For me it is two to three months of living in hell. The heat makes a me feel so sickly.  Basic human function just about next to impossible. There isn't enough fluids I can consume in a day to keep fully hydrated, so I'm always fighting a higher than normal level of dehydration. All the symptoms of dehydration plague me. Then lets throw in the fact that I am a type one diabetic. Even a small slight dehydration level causes blood sugars to rise. Probably because of the concentrated blood? Is that even possible? I don't know. But what I do know is that my insulin becomes just about worthless at maintaining anything that resembles a decent blood sugar level. No matter how much I closely monitor it. High blood sugar levels make you feel sickly, and guess what it also does, it dehydrates you faster than just the heat. Then to try to maintain fluid levels my body will retain what water it can, and it stores it in my arms, hands, legs and feet. Think of skin balloons swelling so much that movement is painful, and you wonder if you are part love child to the Michelin man. 

 Wow, are you starting to paint a mental picture about how awful summer is for me? Now let's throw in the fact that I am already dealing with all this stuff, my body's natural cooling system is damaged. That damage has occurred from the 28 years of diabetes and the toll this disease I has taken on my body. So summer is equated to misery. It can't be avoided, only endured to the best of ones ability. Come on, winter, bah, that's no biggy. Crank up the heater, add more clothing layers to your body. You can always have ways to get warm. And on really bad cold days, you can opt not to go out.  But the heat of summer invades its way into everything. Even into my home, outside, my car. Even into the night making delicate sleep, that us already a challenge to achieve, under regular circumstances difficult to down right impossible.

No I will ever be a fan of summer. Even if that means there is no school ( for kiddo now) and that my birthday is coming. I don't need to celebrate my birthday anymore, that's just making me older, but I can still do with presents. I'm ok with that. But summer, if you never arrived, you would never be missed by me. Not at all. I would prefer to move from a really long spring, into a long fall, and then right into winter and around again. Just yank out that unpleasant season right out of the loop would certainly be fine by me. 

So be fore warned, if you are the next person I run into that says how much they love summer, and the heat, you just might be slapped. At least a verbal lashing about why I hate summer.