August has always been a month of mixed feelings for me.
As a youngster, it was always important to me as my birth month. If fact, I always considered my mid-month birthday as the pinnacle summertime event of my childhood. Unfortunately, because of its close proximity to the start of a new school year, the immediate aftermath was a huge letdown. It was like coming off of a sugar high.
As an adult, August is still an important milestone month, because now my wedding anniversary is also included as part of it. But while the school year has no direct impact on me now, it’s still a negative mental marker of the summer ending, with the daylight hours getting shorter, and the temperature getting colder.
This year, my August attitude has been the same as usual. There have been many highs in the first half of the month to go along with the birthday / anniversary attention, including family gatherings for weddings, and the always-important Iowa State Fair. (Not just attending the fair, but once again competing and judging.)
But now here we are at month’s end, with the Labor Day holiday at hand, and the melancholy feeling is taking over. The more leisurely summer days and evenings are ending, and everything you told yourself you’d wait to do until the Fall is now staring you smack in the face.
One good thing about getting older is, I can at least enjoy the usually beautiful September / October weather. That wasn’t the case in my younger years, when the hours of helping work on the farm were even longer. It wasn’t the case in my young adult years, either, because those months typically brought with them a vast array of kids’ school and sports activities.
Farewell, August. I look forward to seeing you again next year – at least your first 20 or so days.
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