Water Works

I wash my car the old-fashioned way: by hand. Spraying water on the car and letting it blow into the wind and onto me takes me back to my childhood, when playing in the sprinkler was the cherished summer activity.
Elisabeth Galperin
Hillsborough, North Carolina

Although I’m 27, I still enjoy a refreshing dip in my backyard plastic kiddie pool. And now that I have a 10-month-old daughter, I can just say I bought it for her.
Brooke Bubna
Portland, Oregon

I make a “water cocktail,” with ice, lemon slices, and fresh mint and serve it in a pretty pitcher. It beats the heat and makes me feel like I’m having a day at a spa.
Emily Leverone
Charlotte, North Carolina

Living in the Southwest, I actually enjoy the summer heat. But my family doesn’t. We do a lot of inexpensive things that involve water: washing the car, hosing down patio furniture, watering the lawn in the evening. We have a great time, and the kids learn to have fun and accomplish something at the same time.
Audrey Glazier
Las Vegas, Nevada

I take my kayak out for an afternoon of paddling on a spring-fed river. If the cool air rising off the always 72-degree water doesn’t cool me enough, I go for a dip when I’m done.
Peggy Sherman
Greenville, Florida

I grew up in a row house in Baltimore. In the summertime, after a rain shower, my best friend and I would put on our bathing suits and roller skates. Then we’d skate up and down the sidewalk, shaking the young maple trees so we could cool off with “leaf showers.”
Deborah Mugno
Cape Carteret, North Carolina

The Great Indoors

To beat the summer heat, we go to the library. It offers a variety of activities and readings; it’s where I used to take my kids before we had an air-conditioned house; and it’s the one place where I can say to my kids, “You can have whatever you want” — for three weeks, that is.
Ellen Hutkin
Tarzana, California

Go to the movies. It’s always freezing cold in the theater. There’s nothing like an ice-cold soda and a cold theater to get your mojo back.
Sarah Bittner
Beaverton, Oregon

I take a Sunday nap with all the windows open so I can hear the neighborhood children playing. Their laughter lulls me to sleep.
Heather Debruin
Hightstown, New Jersey

Heat Seekers

I don’t — I try to enjoy it. I wear sandals and dresses and take long evening walks and drink a lot of water. There’s no other time of year when I feel more energetic.
Aubrey Faith-Slaker
Westmont, Illinois

I love the summer heat. I keep the air conditioner off as much as possible, open the windows wide, wear shorts and camisoles, and if I start feeling a little warm, I remember those 30-below-windchill days of last February in Indiana. Instant cool.
Cathy Dee
Fort Wayne, Indiana