A glass half full....of rain :)

It's been a dismal summer for Alaskans. Everyone looks forward to summer, regardless of where you live (at least I think anyway) but for Alaskans summer is freedom. We spend our winters in cold darkness (although not as exaggerated as many in the lower 48 believe, unless you live in Barrow) and summer is a chance to spread our wings a bit. This is not to say we can't enjoy winter, most of us do, but by the time spring rolls around even the die hards are ready for some summer fun. Most of the time, our summers are wonderful but every so often we have a year like this one, cloudy and full of rain. Apparently we can blame El Nino...or his girlfriend, I can't remember which does what, but regardless of the reason, it's tough to relinquish our summer sunshine. Obviously it is beyond my control to do anything about the weather so I have decided to try and look at the positives of this summer, in an attempt to lighten my mood about the whole situation. So here goes...

* The rain has muddied up the rivers making sport fishing, any chance he gets, less appealing to my husband and I have very much enjoyed having him around so much

* The fireweed (which I love) around my house has reached gargantuan size and insane numbers

* I've barely had to mow my "lawn"

* The lack of summer heat has kept the mosquitos in close abundance and the incessant itching from their bites reminds me I'm alive

* I was sick for several weeks, not having a lot of energy to be outside, this was made easier by the fact that it was nasty out anyway

* My kids will now never understand the phrase "indoor voices" because they haven't been inside/outside enough to differentiate ergo I will never lose them in a grocery store

*I've gotten a lot of use out of the fireplace David thought was a waste of money & space

* Now that I am feeling better AND the weather is not so great I can finally finish unpacking & put up some pictures...maybe

* I have spent countless hours snuggling my little boys while the elements raged outside

Ok, that's it, at least all I can think of at the moment. Obviously some of them are genuine, others my light hearted attempt to make you laugh. The reality is I can do nothing about the clouds rolling over my house but I can keep them from rolling over my heart, so that's what I am going to try to do. Life is full of punches, you just gotta roll with em and find a way to laugh, otherwise you'll cry (and end up wetter:).