It's August, all ready, and I'll never get used to how summer affects me now. It's always been my favorite season. The heat and humidity have always been welcome to aching joints, and I love being out in the sun, even though I don't tan as well as my sibs.
This summer, though, has been really tough. The air quality has been lousy, and we've had scads of days with temperatures in excess of 100F/38C. Consequently, I've spent most of the summer indoors. The lack of rain has been both good and bad: Bad because we are still going through a drought, but good because I only had to mow the lawn once in July. It needs it again, though, since we got a couple thunderstorms.
The other things that make it hard to breathe can't always be seen: Clouds of scent surrounding people, whether it's from laundry products, soap, hair care stuff, or perfume; Smoke of any kind, though tobacco is most prevalent; whatever's causing the haze I can see a mile away; and commercial cleaning products. The masks help, but not enough. I've been fighting going to the doctor for a month, but may not be able to put it off much longer.
