Lost in the dog days of summer....

It never fails.

Whenever relatives come to visit, I am overwhelmed by the daily tasks that inevitably accompany caring for the creature comforts of so many. Bear in mind that I have five children and one husband already. Throw in another two or three people along with back to back 90+ degree days and my skills as a hostess are sorely tested.

I am not a good hostess under the best of circumstances.

I try not to stress about things like the grilled salmon steaks and freshly snapped green beans that I'm preparing for dinner. I try not to worry about the key lime pie that still needs whipped cream embellishment.

Instead, I seek to melt into the poolside frenzy of water and laughter that my children faithfully generate every hot summer afternoon. I sip tall glasses of iced wild sweet orange tea and blissfully slip into the forgetfulness that I always find in the long afternoons of hot August days.

Only then do I remember that the salmon steaks, the green beans and the key lime pie will meet with our loud lip smacking and groans of contentment when it is their time.

For now, I am lost in the dog days of summer, sipping my Tazo tea.