Summer is in full swing. Isn't that nice? Yes sir, the birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the gas prices are bringing me down.

Lori Clinch is the mother of four sons and the author of the book "Are We There Yet?" You can reach her at www.loriclinch. com. Back in the good old days I was the queen of running the gas tank on low. Much to my father's dismay, a quarter of a tank was more than adequate to get me by, and I firmly believed that the "E" on my gas gauge stood for "enough."

My gas tank policy was his worst nightmare. After all, the man changed his oil every 2,900 miles, kept his dash dusted and got a second opinion on tire pressure.

Therefore, he was always more than a bit appalled when I would call him in moments of desperation from a parking lot with a car full of kids and a vehicle that wouldn't start.

"Do you have any gas in that thing?" he'd ask every time he came to my rescue.

"You bet!" I'd respond with great confidence. "It has like a 16th of a tank." And I knew that because I'd checked before I called.

"A 16th, huh?" he'd ask as he climbed behind the wheel and took a look at the gauge. Then he'd go to his car, get out the can that he'd filled on his way to rescue me, and proceed to fill me in on the sinfulness of riding around on an empty tank.

But that was back when fuel was a mere $1.27 a gallon. Back before we watched it approach $2, considered a second mortgage and before we gave serious consideration to adding bicycle pedals to the family sedan.

Nowadays we all talk about the time when gas was a mere $3.62 - and that was only a month ago!

We Clinches have been doing all that we can to conserve our gas and increase our mpg calculations. Some might think it stressful, others might wonder if it's worth the effort. But you show me someone who isn't coasting to stop lights and I'll show you a teenager who is financially backed by his father's gas card.

We're not exactly hyper-milers, but we have learned that fuel economy can be increased by leaving the air conditioning off and sweating like dogs. We've had seminars about tire pressure, removed ornaments from the antenna to improve aero-dynamics, and whenever we can, we bring friends along and charge them for the ride.

Then there's the red-light timing concept, the 10-second rule for waiting in a fast-food line and the ever-loving silence mode where no one is allowed to talk. (Actually, I made that one up so that I could listen to my rock 'n' roll music, but some of the children are still young enough to believe that if they put it into effect, Mommy will save enough gas to buy them peanut butter cups.)

It's only a matter of time before we seriously consider having the kids get behind the car and push us to church.

As a family who used to think nothing of taking a drive to the emergency room, it's a tough pill to swallow when each and every trip has to go before the energy board, aka my beloved spouse.

In an attempt to compromise, he's been rationing trips into town. "Where are you going?" he asked me as I tried to sneak out the back door the other day.

"To the store," I responded in my sarcastic teenager tone.

"Is this something we could be doing on a bike?"

"Not unless you could hire the Flying Manellos to balance four gallons of milk."

He thought about my response for a moment and I'm quite certain that somewhere in his mind there was a calculator running in an attempt to determine if hiring a balancing act for a bicycle might not be cheaper than the drive to the store.

Given the recent increases, we might have been able to sign up an entire crew, including someone to do the bicycling for us and still have been money ahead.

When I gassed up the other day, the kids asked me, "Why are you filling up when you're still half full?"

"Because Grandpa said they're going to raise it again this weekend so we'd best stock up now."

When the kids told Grandpa that his daughter was driving around on a full tank, it was like music to his ears.

It's working out great for me as well. I'm sure that my dad would still show up with a gas can if I called him and told him that I had ran out.

But now there'd surely be a trip charge added to the cost of the gallon.