With sharp wit and a self-deprecating sense of humor, Charlotte Observer humor columnist Tracy Curtis shares a collection of stories about being thrown into the deep end of our hottest season. Beach Bummed compiles the flips and flops in trying to keep everybody happy during the wild ride of summer!

It’s impossible to get post-baby bodies into pre-baby bathing suits. Paddleboarding is like trying to ride an ironing board on a bed of marbles. The beach chairs don’t match, leaving one person talking to everybody’s feet – and anchoring a beach tent in sand is like installing a jungle gym in sugar. The kids are bored, the hermit crab is missing and it’s so hot you’d rather pour your mojito over your body than drink it. And why do kids get to go to camp? Their whole life is summer camp – send the moms!

Beach Bummed reminds us that if you’re counting on the perfect summer … you’re gonna get burned!