As I look outside, I have to remind myself that it really is summer. With the Coronado weather being what it is, it doesn’t feel like summer at all.

They are saying that it is just June gloom carrying over into July. The mornings are gray and cool. It was even misting this morning. Sometimes the sun will burn off the thick marine layer for a few precious sunny hours. At those times, the sun is strong and standing in the direct sunlight feels hot. Yet there has been a cold breeze for a few months now that makes it cool in the shade even when the sun does manage to make an appearance.

I sit here wearing shorts (a concession to the fact that it is summer) and a sweatshirt (a concession to the chilled air flowing in through the sliding glass door of the balcony).

I’ve just read an article about the massive heat wave hitting the East coast and I realize that living in Coronado I have forgotten how hot the summer can be in other parts of the country. The contrast is especially true with today’s weather.

Having grown up on the East coast in the Mid-Hudson Valley, I can remember the suffocating heat and humidity that was summer. While I grew up in the country, I lived in new York City for six years and I remember a summer when my rommates and I sat through three showings of the same movie just to beat the heat. As I read of people’s creative ways to try to escape the heat and the worries of those whose health issues make the heat a very real danger, I guess I can tolerate a little gloom.

And, the weather reports are predicting sunny afternoons this weekend. Perhaps summer will make an appearance after all.

In the meantime, my thoughts are with those suffering through the heat wave. I hope that they will be safe and stay healthy.