By PATTIE MIHALIK

newsgirlcomcast.netWhen I was a kid, I lived for summer. Couldn't get enough of those warm, languid days filled with fun in the sun.Now that I'm a big kid, nothing has changed. I still wait with great anticipation for the sultry, summer days I love.I still lap up every delicious moment of summer, wishing it would last all year.I like the fact that I live in Florida where we have a joke about our four seasons: Feels like Summer, Almost Summer, Steamy Summer and Still Summer.That's not exactly true because even in Florida the time will come when days get cooler and it's no longer comfortable to swim in the pool unless you're from Minnesota or Michigan.While summer is here, I'm taking advantage of every day.For me, the best way to spend a summer day is wet. Some days I need two bathing suits and sometimes water clothes for kayaking. I'll start the day kayaking, jump in the pool when I get home, and head to the beach in early evening to enjoy the sunset.I always say I'm not going in the water after dinner, but who can look at the gentle waves lapping the shore without wanting to at least get your feet wet?That seems to imply everyone feels the same way about enjoying summer. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.I've been coaxing my close friend Linda to go kayaking with me because I like the way she does it. Unlike some I've kayaked with, Linda doesn't paddle like her boat is on fire and she has to get to shore in a hurry. Instead, she does a leisurely paddle devoted to seeing wildlife and enjoying nature.I tell Linda she has incredible vision because she can spot a dolphin when it's still a small movement on the horizon and can see every interesting fish underwater way before the rest of us see it.But she says she not going kayaking until it cools off. With much of the country joining us in experiencing what seems like record temperatures, she is one of the many who don't want to go out in the heat of the day."It's too hot," friends tells me when I try to plan outdoor fun. "We'll do it when it's cooler."Do you think many of us mind the heat more because we are in air conditioning so much? When you step into heat from an air-conditioned car, it sometimes feels like the pavement is melting and you just fell into a furnace.I'm so old that I remember when cars didn't have air conditioning. And I never wanted it.Remember how cars had small side vent windows that allowed air to rush in? The faster we drove, the more we enjoyed the wind tunnel. Sometimes I stuck a coke bottle out the window so I could magnify the sound of rushing air.Sure, we stuck to the upholstery and were always sweaty while driving in the heat. But back then, we didn't know the luxury of air conditioning in a car.When air conditioning came out, I said I would never buy a car with it. I thought it was just another thing we didn't need that ran up the cost of the car and used more gas.When we got a super good deal on a used station wagon that came with air conditioning, I was led down the path of self-indulgence. And I loved it.No more getting windblown while driving, turning any hairdo into a tousled mess. No more sweating on long trips.When I was a teenager I had more tolerance for heat because my bedroom was in the attic. It was the biggest and most private room in the house, along with the hottest.Our old house only had one small window in the attic, not even big enough for a fan.While the downstairs bedrooms were carpeted, my attic bedroom had linoleum. When it got too hot to sleep in bed, I put my pillow on the floor right under the open window. The linoleum was cooler than my body, allowing me to drift off to sleep.I like to remember those days so I don't get soft so I don't complain too much about not wanting to bike during the hottest part of the day.My husband and I have different heat tolerances. He is never too hot and thinks nothing of going for a two-hour bike ride in the afternoon when the sun is at its strongest.I keep insisting I only want to bike during early mornings when it's a bit cooler. But because of other appointments we are sometimes out there during peak temperatures.Yesterday while we were biking I felt light rain hitting my arms and legs. David insisted it wasn't raining. Some will gross out when I tell the truth: It was sweat.To stop me from saying "it's too hot," I remember the days before air conditioning.We stayed cooler with cross ventilation, just a way of saying we opened the front door and back door, hoping for a breeze.They say we can better appreciate what we have if we remember the past.And if that doesn't work for you, remember in another few months we'll be wishing we had some of this heat.