Growing Older But Not Up

Summer fun and staying cool is the theme of this week's Fun Monday assignment which comes from the lovely Janis.

Since the Lazy Hazy Days of summer are upon us now, tell us what activities you enjoy doing outside and how do you stay cool. Share some photos of both if you wish.

The humidity runs thick in the Ohio Valley, so things can get pretty steamy and sticky around here in July and August. Heck, sometimes it's sticky in May. You have to work at trying to stay cool. The Hula-gen's work hard, but they like to play hard, too. Each summer, we usually take a couple of trips to amusement parks and water parks. We love Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. It has wonderful rides, the water park is fantastic and we never ever feel ripped off when we go there. They have free sunscreen and free drinks. It's just a great family friendly place. We also like King's Island in Cincinnati and make a trek there every summer with the church youth group. Hubby and Teen Angel are there this weekend. Some years we take a vacation in the summer. Other years we wait until fall break in October. This year, we're going to Destin in October, and I can't wait. Florida is so stinkin' hot in July that we opted for the cooler and less crowded fall break this time. Most weekends, we simply vacation in our backyard. We are fortunate enough to have a pool, and we like to use it. Teen Angel splishes and splashes. Hubby and I float. We go round and round and round in our floating chairs. I read and he naps, which is what he was doing when I took this picture recently. It's the best way we know how to stay cool in the peak summer months.

We also garden. We have 53 tomato plants this year, and they are really blooming right now.

We've picked a few small tomatoes, and they should really start coming on pretty soon. There's nothing cool and comfortable about gardening, but we do enjoy it.

One of the other things I enjoy in the summer is races. We have several 5K races in our town between April and October, giving me ample opportunity to be reminded of how slow I am...er, I mean to see how well my weekly running sessions are working. We had one yesterday, and I was a little concerned that it was going to be miserably hot. It wasn't because it rained.

And rained.And rained.And rained some more.Oh, hello young man with the nice calves.

They delayed the race for a little while and when the lightening stopped and it became obvious the clouds weren't going to pass any time soon, they lined us up and we ran in the pouring rain. All 3.1 miles. We were soaked. The poor folks who were walking the course were absolutely pruney by the time they finished. I've been caught in the rain while running before, but my feet have never been this wet. Fortunately, I had packed extra clothes, shoes and a towel when I left the house, so I eventually got somewhat dry but not before I spent a full three hours standing around in the driving rain. And guess who was there. Jerry, from The Biggest Loser. He seemed like a really nice fellow, and while he could have finished at a much faster pace, he stuck with the walkers in the back and talked with them and encouraged them. Classy.

The clouds really opened up during the youth race. Those kids got pounded, but they didn't mind. You know kids, the wetter, the better.

What is fun about racing in the pouring rain or blistering heat you ask? I'm not sure I can explain it. It SEEMS like torture to run your legs off all week just to see how far you can push yourself on a Saturday morning when you're not likely to win a prize and if you do it's a cheap trophy. There's just a lot of satisfaction in trying to stay healthy and trying to hang onto a shred of athleticism as you get old. Of keeping your competitive spirit alive and always trying to make yourself a little bit better than you were the week before. Of course, floating around in pool is just as fun. And a whole lot easier. Which is what I'd be doing right now if it weren't RAINING...again.