Still Got It: Pandemic Edition

Well, I'm just going to come right out and say it: 2020 is no one's friend. She's mean-spirited, hateful, spiteful, rude, and tacky. Every single time I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel, 2020 comes along and snuffs it out. I'm pretty sure I read months ago that COVID-19 didn't like the heat, however, it's a balmy 92-degrees in Charlotte this week and our daily number of cases continues to rise. Face masks are the (literal) hot summer accessory--because in my state, they are required if you're out in public. Concerts and events are cancelled, and we've spent the first half of the year being "safer at home."

But all of that is okay. It's completely out of our control, so it's time to put on a happy face (under your properly fitted face covering, of course) and focus on what we do have going for us. There are just some things that even COVID can't kill. Some of our most beloved things about good old summertime are eternal, pandemic or no. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present just a short list of things we've still got, fabulous as they be:

The lake, the pool, and the ocean are all ready and waiting. You may have to stay further apart from your fellow sunbathers than usual, but is that even a bad thing? Maybe now I can enjoy the breeze from the water and my toes in the sand without being downwind from some idiot haphazardly spraying aerosol sunscreen (it happens every summer--people spray that stuff around like they're throwing confetti on New Year's and it winds up in my face, my eyes, my throat). The water is still cool, the days are still long, and I still love working on my tan. Come on in, the water's fine. We've still got it.

Six feet away with the sunscreen, too, people. 

Summer food is still delicious. This pandemic hasn't ruined the watermelon or tomato crop, thank heavens, so fill up the salt shaker and get the party started. We had our first tomato sandwiches of the summer last weekend--white bread, Duke's mayo, farmer's market tomatoes--and it was even better than I thought I remembered. Yesterday, I took the lazy way out and bought some pre-cut watermelon at the grocery store and the package didn't have a bar code...so the cashier gave it to me for free. Watermelon sprinkled with a little salt is the unofficial taste of summer. Yep, still got it.

A summer still life.

Last I checked, an icy cold Coca Cola in a glass bottle remains a delicious way to quench the July heat, hot dogs off the grill were still one of the finest meals around, lightning bugs dancing in the yard still remind me of catching them in Mason jars as a child, and coming into the wonderfully chilly air-conditioning after a walk still revives my hot, weary, Southern soul. Sorry to tell you this, 2020, but we've still got it.

Some things are just eternal; like running through a sprinkler in the summertime. 

Hammocks still swing, socks and shoes are not part of the dress code, and our porches and patios are still open. Ice cream is still melty and delicious, water balloon fights are highly encouraged, and there's no need to change out of your t-shirt or fix your hair. Sure, some things are different this year, but so many of the things that we love about this season will always remain. So throw on your flip flops, fire up the sprinkler, and enjoy a Popsicle out on the porch. Tell that hussy 2020 to stick her finger in the Bug Zapper or take long walk off a short pier, because summer is here, and we've still got it.

Happy summer!