Marginalia

On a day in mid-July, my younger brother William and I are sitting on the grass in our backyard.

“Wow,” I say. “During the school year, I constantly look forward to summer — a time of constant sunlight, happiness, no responsibility. But now that it has finally arrived, I find the heat annoying, the activities a bit monotonous, and my sleep schedule certainly not the best. It seems like I have gotten a version of Paris Syndrome for summertime.”

“What exactly is Paris Syndrome?” William says with a yawn.

“This is going to sound weird.” I tell him that Paris Syndrome is when tourists have an overly romanticized idea of Paris as a perfect romantic city, and then arrive and feel disillusioned when they find that it is a normal modern city with all the drawbacks of one. “The point is that I mentally hyped up summer to be this awesome season, and now I realize that it has not lived up to my expectations. Get the analogy?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

I recommend that we go back in the house, get some Diet Cokes, and then go back out. William shakes his head, saying he wants some iced water instead, as the temperature goes up another degree.