It seems summer has gotten to a slow start this year. Mississippi weather is as predictable as a celebrity relationship. And when it finally decided to warm up, it did. Mississippi – the great state where you can be pulling out winter clothes one day and blasting the air conditioner the next.

But I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Being extremely cold natured, I’m sure I would not make it in New York. I would simply freeze. Alaska will only see me in the summertime.

A celebration that really sets off summer is the Fourth of July. My family and I celebrated Independence Day with ribs, sausage and barbecue chicken. Like Mississippi weather, it had been cool the night before, so I dipped my toes into my aunt’s pool and shuddered. Independence Day did not see me in the pool, but laying dry, under the warm sun. After a moment of relaxation, my sister, Kallie, wanted to drive my uncle’s Bad Boy side-by-side. My cousin, Ashley, and I knew this because we saw her sitting in it…. waiting for us to join. Never again. Kallie must’ve thought we were not yet independent of the British, because she drove on the left side of the gravel road most of the time. She also decided to Dale Earnhardt it through the yard. This is why when she asked to drive the four-wheeler later, we said, no.

We usually shoot fireworks every year, but my fiancé and uncle were off working hard on oilrigs, so we skipped this time. It may have been for the best. On New Year’s Eve, Daddy and Uncle Johnny Ray couldn’t get a firework to shoot, so they put a smoldering log under it…. that firework shot sporadically for two days. They took the “big boomers,” as Daddy calls them, to shoot on the other side of the pond. Next thing I know, a blazing, popping, object is flying through the tall grass, across the field, towards me. Yes, maybe a firework break was a good idea; however, I do believe it was the absentee’s idea (my uncle) to position the firework over a kindling log.

Other celebrations that happen during the month of July are three of my favorite people’s birthdays: my sister, Kallie, my fiancé, Jacob, and my Paw Paw, Tom Goetz. July is a busy present-buying time for sure. I got Kallie’s present this week. It’s one of those driver’s manuals they give out to kids trying to get their permits. OK, not really. But that is a good idea.

July is the heart of summertime. There are so many memories to be made. Lemonade stands with cute little sales associates; barbecue chicken and familiar laughter; watermelon cuttings under the warm, bright sun; and dangerous ATV rides. This month holds so much more excitement. Take some time with your family this summer month and make some memories. Just be wary of blondes with lead foots and rednecks with fireworks.

Lifestyles Editor Jessica Boyd can be reached at The Daily Leader at 601-833-6961 ext. 134, by email at jessica.boyd@dailyleader.com or you can write to her at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602.