Antiperspirant on My Ankles.

I have been drinking in every last second of summer, truly dreading the end of my second favorite season.  I love the ice cream, hot weather, lemonade, the long relaxing days.  I didn't think there was a single thing about summer I didn't like.

I was wrong.

Last night, in an effort to cram as much outside air into my weekend as possible, I went to an early evening concert with my husband and youngest son.  And I got eaten alive by mosquitoes.  They completely feasted on me as if they had never eaten before.  In between the itching, I counted the bites today.  Sixteen on one leg alone.  Sixteen, unbearably itchy bites.  I scratch, I itch, I curse, I complain.  I smack them, I obsess over them, I scratch them some more.  I can't think about anything else but the unbearable itching on my legs that won't go away.  I applied two different creams, took a hot bath, tried to pretend I didn't have the bites at all.  But the itching won't stop.

This evening, I complain to my mother.  Now here's the kicker.  My mother tells me to roll antiperspirant "not deodorant, that won't work" on my bites.  Sounds wacky to me, but at this point I am willing to try just about anything.

It worked.

The itching stopped immediately and I am amazed.  She also tells me to carry a Bounce dryer sheet in my pocket when I am outside and I won't get bit in the first place.  I don't know where she gets this stuff, but I can assure you, as foolish as this sounds, I will have a dryer sheet stuffed in every pocket from June through October from this day on.

And I'll also have antiperspirant on my ankles.