Dear Kid,

How do you celebrate summer? DearKidLoveMom.comWelcome to the Ides of July and the middle of the summer.

To celebrate, the mosquitoes have declared the entire outdoors is their buffet. And by “entire outdoors” I mean “me.”

To celebrate, the deer have declared the entire garden is their buffet. And by “entire garden” I mean “the beet tops.”

To celebrate, the moles have declared the entire backyard is their buffet. And by “entire backyard” I mean “entire backyard.”

To celebrate, the dust dragons have gone on a procreative rampage. And by “procreative rampage” I mean there are a lot of them.

To celebrate, Booker is shedding. And by “shedding” I mean “losing enough fur to make a whole extra beast.”

To celebrate, the air conditioner is working overtime. As is the icemaker.

To celebrate, American Ninja Warrior is in the city finals. And by “in the city finals” I mean you can pretty much guess what I’m doing on Monday evenings. And Kacy Catenzaro #MightyKacy is the first woman not only to make it to the top of the warped wall but through the entire finals course. In case you have no idea how impressive that is, only 6 men made it the whole way (out of a field of 30) and Kacy is only 5 feet tall. She is about 6 kinds of amazing.

(If you’re looking for me on Tuesday evenings, I’m probably making sure that the judges on America’s Got Talent don’t make any mistakes.)

To celebrate, grills all over the country are cooking delicious meals. And by “all over the country” I mean not in our backyard, because our grill master isn’t home at the moment.

How are you celebrating the middle of the summer?

Love, Mom