“Summertime and the living is easy.” Memorable words by Ira Gershwin, but did Ira have seven year old twins home from school in the summertime? Is the living easy with outrageous gas prices? Without air conditioning back in 1935, did they cope with the heat better?

It is in full bloom, it is long awaited by school kids, and long dreaded by stay at home moms — it is summer.

I love my kids. I love my kids in small portions. Schools out for summer and not only are my sons home but the neighbor kid is home too. This means endless control wars where the irritating neighbor kid threatens to not come back for three years every five minutes. He keeps threatening his departure because it works!

He gets his way with only one of the twins. Cade has his number, but Conner immediately tries to pacify the demanding kid by giving in. Finally, I told Conner, if the boy threatens to leave again for three years, tell him great, see ya in three years!

He never goes away. He is like Bill Murray from the movie “What about Bob.” He stomps off leaving for his extended three years and, two minutes later, his little blonde head is in the window, staring inside our house with a goofy grin on his face.

Ok, maybe I have a case of the summertime blues.

But who wouldn’t? No one is going anywhere cause they can’t afford the gas and the television offerings are few and far between. All the news is scary and our food is either too expensive or making us sick.

As I get older, the heat keeps me inside more and more. I find that I am addicted to comfort.

There are many things that warrant the summertime blues. It hit really big when during my latest move, my bathing suits went missing. I think I accidentally donated them or something.

This is a wonderful way to force shopping when it’s for other clothing items. You are excited about having to replace an old dress with a new one. But bathing suits? Yikes. That means the horror of trying to find a new one. It means forty hangers, bad lighting, depressing images reflected in the mirror back at you reminding you of all the French fries you have eaten in the past month.

Bathing suits create summertime blues. It is realizing that the older you get more coverage, more holding in, and more lifting up is required. I am thinking, the way things are going, a wet suit may be in my cards.

Summer time is not all bad. I just like to complain. I like the family adventures we manage to get into as well. We are an active gang. But, since Carl totaled a giant Nissan Titan by being t-boned by an even bigger truck, the biking and hiking trips have drastically been reduced. So, now I am only thinking how we could be biking our favorite trail or hiking down to the bottom of Little River Canyon to fish and swim with the boys.

We like to take a boat out and experience summer on the water, but the pounding of the waves on our backs is rough — me because I am older and everything jarring is painful and on him because he is still in physical therapy. Again, summertime blues.

There is one saving grace about the summer time, the movies are generally better. It is exciting to go the movies! You can’t wait to beat the heat, grab the bucket of popcorn and watch the latest Will Smith summertime blockbuster.

I have been thinking, Mr. Smith has been a part of my summer for many years. “Independence Day” was such a thrill ride in the days before we were so sophisticated with special effects driven movies. That was 22 years ago! Yikes! Now I am back to being depressed again.

The daylight hours are longer so all the added sunshine should cheer me up. If I put on Bongo Jerry’s tune, “In the Summertime,” maybe it will pick my spirits up.

“In the summertime when the weather’s high, you can stretch right up and touch the sky.

“When the weather’s fine, we go fishing or go swimming in the sea. We’re always happy, life’s for living, yeah, that’s our philosophy.”

I feel better already. Life is for living even if it means putting up with a whiny neighbor kid. So get busy living it!