I will not miss you, Summer.

No, not my friend Summer. And I do have a friend named Summer.

I'm referring to this useless season we are currently enduring. It has little going for it other than school being out, and that reason in itself is debatable.

Things I don't like about summer:

1- The bracing, hot, sticky, annoying heat.

2- By proxy, the A/C bill. For no other reason would I spend $200 a month on air.

3- It's the last stretch of months one must endure before football season begins.

4- TV shows are on a break. For those of you that have 1,000 things backed up on your DVR, or watch one of those freak-of-nature, doesn't-follow-the-rules, "summer" TV shows like "The Closer", or "Burn Notice", it's a long, parched, desert for the rest of us. Three months it too terribly long to go without watching "Bones."

5- Some of us don't enjoy wearing bathing suits or sundresses. Honestly.

6- The upside to being a SAHM is being able to go places during the week without a million kids being around. Not so in the summer. Everywhere I go is crawling with children, and really, I have enough of my own.

7- If I want to exercise outside, it must be accomplished before 8am to avoid heatstroke.

8- We are relegated to constantly eating grilled food or yogurt for dinner, so we can avoid turning on the oven or stove and adding even MORE heat to the house.

9- Did I mention the heat?

Now, let me counteract those of you who wish to argue:

1- I don't like the beach.

2- Cold weather suits me just fine.

3- I can have ice cream, hot dogs, and coleslaw anytime of year. That goes for watermelon and lemonade, too.

4- One word: Christmas.

If I ever move to the Southern Hemisphere, I might have a problem.

The Best

I have a nasty confession to make. I will be the bold one and make it here, but I'm guessing that some of you are guilty of this, too.

I want to be the best.

I am interested in many things, and I am good, even great, at a few things. But I am not satisfied merely with interest and accomplishment. I want to be THE best. Sometimes I get pretty persnickety when I hear of or experience somebody that outpaces me in my choice accomplishments.

Examples:
I am pretty funny. But I know at least three people that are way funnier than me, and I curse those upstarts for their witty vocabulary and quick comedic timing.

I make wicked good cookies. One of the guys at my husband's poker games makes cookies that put mine to shame.(yep, that's right. A guy.) Folks are always begging him to make his blasted cookies, while mine are pitifully passed over.

I am a pretty good teacher, and am very enthusiastic about my subject. (sometimes too enthusiastic...) Most of my students like me just fine. But I have at least two co-workers that are the All-Stars of my school, whom the students adore and think are the coolest ever. I will never be as revered as those teachers.

I read lots of books, most of them "good" books, and very little junk (especially if you overlook my "Twilight" phase). I went to a friend's house last week and her "bathroom book" was A Movable Feast. Hemingway! In the bathroom! How can I compete with that?

You can see where all of this is going.

For one thing, we are not meant to be the best. According to The Best, Jesus, we are to be the worst:

Matthew 20:16- "And the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Which means something along the lines of, "if I spend my life trying to be the best baker/teacher/comedian without actually trying to bless people, I will find myself without much of a home in heaven."

That's pretty clear, and I can take that Holy-Spirit-Sucker-Punch-of-Humility, because Jesus says so.

However, Jesus makes this even more bearable by telling us how special we are. For the biggest Godly-Confidence-Boost of all time, check out Psalm 139:

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you."

To recap: He knew me before I was made. He created me for His special purpose (that's Ephesians 2:10), he thinks about me so much it's beyond comprehension, my whole life has been perfectly ordained by Him.

So there's comforting knowledge in this: He HAS created me to be the best at His own purpose for me, whatever that may be. I just hope it's the cookies.