Swimming makes June in Tucson all better.

Its unbearably hot outside, June is not a great month for Tucson. I think its my least favorite month right now. I have been hunched over a computer working on schoolwork-39 days and counting, curtains closed, A/C blasting, getting paler by the second. But then I went swimming today, got some color, and now I feel refreshed. Funny how pool water does that, not sure why that is, except that in June, nothing feels better. I got in a pool, and voila relief.

June sucks, unless you are on vacay somewhere else, here its just hot. Its parched, and cracked, with bright blue sky with no clouds, the air makes you feel shriveled up before you get sweaty if you are outside long enough. Growing up we had an above ground pool called a doughboy, that I had to clean using a pool vacuum during summer vacation. This was a good thing because we I would get in the pool around 10 am, mask on to go underwater and clean around the steps and in the corners, sort of like a fish tank. This is not a chore I would wish on anyone, but at least in June, where one gets 20 days of 110+ heat, at least I could cool off. I was lucky enough to have friends with below ground pools and even a diving board, so we would swim and do tricks - cannonballs, back dives, cartwheels, you name it, I should have cracked open my head or broke my arm doing it into the pool listening to Madonna's Like a Virgin & True Blue albums, which were played voraciously during the summer months of 86, and 87.

Other things to reminisce about June:

Going swimming, then eating popsicles or cold fruit. My mom used to make homemade popsicles out of cherry Kool-Aid and fruit cocktail - yum!

Stepping out into the warmth outside from the inside ac just when the sun is going down, and its just warm, but not beating down on you warm, just warm like an electric blanket warm. You can hear the cicadas buzzing, but no annoying gnats or other bugs in your face, and you can water your plants in peace.

Reading and falling asleep on the couch in the afternoon cuddled in a blanket, with the A/C blasting.

Movie blockbusters in the theatre during the lazy afternoon heat.

Scrabble and a glass of Pinot Grigio after dinner.

Cold beer and fish tacos on the patio.

I am aAxiously awaiting the monsoons of July...