Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined topic chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-third day of the month is "Atmosphere."
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My birthday fortnight is officially over, so there's no more excitement or excuse to eat dessert every night.
Students are trickling back to school. My husband's calendar is filling up with up meetings and he spent most of the first part of the week training a new employee.
The sun is setting earlier and earlier and I can feel myself dreading when the day comes in September when I know I'll need my SAD lamp.
The director at the community center turned in her letter of resignation, so just when I thought I could get through the end of the calendar year with relatively little stress from that front (when my own resignation will become effective), I've been up tossing and turning about this.
But still. It's the dog days of summer. These are the days we look back on in March and wish for when there's still snow on the ground. Kids are running through sprinklers. The boys on bikes are fishing on the river. There's sidewalk art everywhere I walk Hannah. The construction barrels are still out in all their orange glory.
(You don't care, but as an update to this post: The intersection still has not had the sidewalks replaced. The intersection that was 'fixed" by having a graduated curb and then a sidewalk square and then another curb actually has been graduated all the way. The Main Street construction is ongoing. I am quite upset annoyed about the sidewalk situation.)
It's a complicated time of year, isn't it? I love summer and I love the freedom. But I also love autumn and the cooler temps and the cider and the leaves and the corn mazes.
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Does back to school time make you a little melancholy, too? Or are you pumped to get those kids back in the classroom?
I feel all the emotions this time of year. Mostly relief to have structure and routine and I absolutely love fall weather. But, also, knowing that winter is coming and also generally feeling tired out by the end of summer. At this point, it feels like summer break for the kids is exactly 2 weeks too long (they go back two weeks from today - so will have been off a total of 9.5 weeks!!! That's a lot!!). But the time will fly by and morning temperatures are really cooling down, so I can't deny that fall feels like it's "in the air."
ReplyDeleteAll the emotions! That's exactly it. I'm not really ready to say summer's over (and I can't since it's 97/feels like 107 today (36C/42C), but it's hard to ignore the fact that it IS almost over.
DeleteBecause I no longer have to Go Back To School, I get sort of excited by this time in August. It's a little boost for me even though I've been retired from the classroom for over a decade now. I actually get a little smug when the back-to-school ads start appearing everywhere (earlier each year) because I DON'T HAVE TO GO...STILL!
ReplyDeleteI used to get a little down about the changing of seasons bringing me nearer to winter. I detest winter and its cold and inconvenience. I have a SAD light, too. But I've gotten better about it in the past few years. Shovelling snow has helped a lot. I think it psychologically gives me a feeling of control over winter (or something).
Walking the dog multiple times a day has really helped me with winter blahs, but I'm still not at my best during the winter. I'm constantly one bad phone call away from taking to my bed until the sun makes an appearance. But, I cannot dwell on winter just yet. Onward with the end of summer!
DeleteToday, I'm publishing a post about this same topic. It's a very complicated time of year, and I definitely feel sad. 😘
ReplyDeleteSolidarity, my friend.
DeleteTeam Dessert every night!
ReplyDeleteSigh, there's no doubt about it, the day is getting seriously shorter. I'm going to claim summer through the end of September though.
The one bright spot is that back to school was a resounding success for both boys, so all signs point to a very good year ahead.
Oh, lovely that the start of school went with for your boys. I know it's always a crapshoot that first day of school!
DeleteI am always so torn when back to school comes around. My daughter loves school and I get excited that she's excited - and, I love fall and look forwards to hoodies and crisp mornings and apple desserts... But, as I get older and my kid gets older, these "first days" and milestones also cut a little deep because I see the passage of time right in front of me. Apparently, I am all of the feelings!
ReplyDeleteI don't even have kids and I'm also all the feelings. I don't know why it's hitting so hard this year, but we both must persevere with smiles on our faces!
DeleteIt is disgusting here today - you are probably getting the same disgusting weather. I guess we are getting a taste of Florida in the summer? I'm glad it's a brief heat wave. I feel bad for people who don't have A/C!
ReplyDeleteI'm noticing the days getting shorter, too, and I hate it! I want more sunshine, please and thank you. But I am kind of ready for fall. I think it's my favorite season because of the crisp, cooler temps but still warm days. I'm also very ready to get back into a routine. Today is Paul's last day of his summer program but Kindergarten doesn't start for 2 weeks. So he'll spend next week at my parent's lake home and then my MIL will watch him the last 2 days before school starts. But last night at bedtime he told me he doesn't want to be alone at my parents... I take him up on Saturday and then drive back Sunday. My sister and her family come to my parents next week so he's going to be living his best life because he can boss my 2.5yo niece around and she'll tolerate it better than his brother does and he gets to be the first in our family to meet my new niece. But now I'm stressing about a horrible good bye on Sunday with him screaming and crying and being difficult for my parents... Ay yi yi.
It is REPULSIVE out right now. Hannah wouldn't even walk down the driveway. She just looked at me and turned around. Feels like 107. Gross. It honestly feels like a fridge in our house and the AC is set to 76. I don't know what I'd do without that AC.
DeleteMaybe he'll forget all about how he said he doesn't want to be alone at your parents because it will be EXCITING to be the sole focus of attention. Right? Or...oof. That's a tough one.
This summer really swept past me! I didn't even get around to making a summer list, but it was a good summer nevertheless (or at least when I wasn't being felled with sadness about Scout or my parents). I like teaching and look forward to being back in the classroom, but it's also nice not to do anything and read and laze in the sun. It seems my feelings are mixed and multitudinous!
ReplyDeleteWe're all confused about our feelings this time of year, it seems.
DeleteNope, not melancholy! But when I lived up north this time of year used to fill me with dread. Winters were so, so hard for me. I wonder if my whole life would have been different if we had SAD lamps back then?
ReplyDeleteI wonder about my tween/teen years if I'd had a SAD lamp, too. Maybe I wouldn't have slept for 12 hours at a time? (Or maybe I would. It's a common teen thing, isn't it?)
DeleteMy son is moving out next weekend, aieeeee. And my younger son just got a job starting Monday, so lots of changes on that front. I don't feel melancholy, though that could change.
ReplyDeleteOh, yay! You've really prepped yourself for these changes and it seems to have worked. I'm so happy for you!
DeleteWhen my kids were in school, we loved the Back To School time and routine!! Now? It makes no difference in my life, but I'm looking forward to cooler days.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can imagine the cooler weather will be quite a delightful change for people who live in the South!
DeleteWe used to do an ongoing birthday celebration for Sue, but that has fallen by the wayside.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can bring it back next year. Or not! It's about what makes you happy.
DeleteI feel this about August being a complicated time of year... I don't want the summer to be over (and it won't be for a while here), but I am also looking forward to fall.
ReplyDeleteIt is very complicated. I don't really want an endless summer, but maybe another month would be good?
DeleteI am with you! Back to school time makes me feel really weird because the kids go back so early but it's still summer for several more weeks. I used to want to rush through August and get right to cooler temps but I've really been trying to embrace the end of summer this year!
ReplyDeleteYou've been so busy at the end of this month! It seems like you truly are soaking up every moment of summer!
DeleteI don't feel any of that back-to-school energy. And I can't even get excited for fall because we don't have fall in Florida. It's going to stay hot and humid for another 3 or so months and then the time change will happen, and I am a grumpy gus. But I do love everything else that comes along with fall, like fun drinks at Starbucks, holiday decorations, football, etc.
ReplyDeleteYes, I bet you're not having a great time these days. If we had another 100+ degree day, I might have refused to get out of bed. I have a lot respect for you that you keep keeping on.
DeleteI am having major back to school anxiety. I have to be in the building at least part of every day. I'm parking in a new (hopefully better) lot. I have more meetings. More responsibilities (always). And less time (for sure). I'm not entirely sure how it is all going to get done in the next 9ish months. Yeeks. I hope Dr. BB is hanging in there (doesn't he have a new admin job/area of responsibility?). And, along with that, I hope that YOU are hanging in there.
ReplyDeleteYes, Dr. BB has taken on a new administrative role. The problem is that his teaching responsibilities have not been decreased by nearly enough to make up for the increased load, so it's crazy for him. Oh, well. This will become normalized at some point.
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