Saturday, August 07, 2010

august has a hold of me

i've been thinking a lot about apples.

which is to say, i'm ready for Fall. i'm ready for school buses and sharpened pencils. i'm ready for pots of soup and pumpkin spice candles. college football and knitting needles.

i am ready.

i am an Autumn soul who lives in a Summer town. i live in a constant state of flux with the rhythm of the beach goers and the sun worshippers. i work when others are at their leisure. it is the way of life here on the coast.

in my business, July is the longest month. from about the 24th or 25th of the month, i wake up every morning and think, "how can it possibly still be July?!?" i stare at the calendar with half-lidded eyes over a cup of reheated coffee, willing the pages to turn to August. to September. just NOT july. anything but july. then i prepare myself for another nine or ten hour work day, armed with my Julie McCoy mentality (a bit of false bravado on a clipboard). just ask me what to do with yourselves when it's raining at the beach and your kids are literally climbing the walls of your hotel room. go ahead and ask me. i dare you...)

but on august first, i breathe deeply and know that a sense of normalcy is right around the corner. the sunlight casts longer shadows (if i squint my eyes just right) and it's not as humid when i take the dog for a walk (if we're out before 7 a.m.) but still.

in the past week, this first week of august, i have roasted chicken and enjoyed a pot of chili and planned a getaway for Fall Break. i have gotten stirred up by talk of SEC football, and started browsing patterns to cast on my knitting needles.

there are still weeks of "summer" yet to come. i am making the most of every single day with jack (another post to come on how-jack-and-i-spent-our-summer in this, the year he refused to go to day camp.) i'm still wearing sandals and staying up way too late watching ridiculous reality television. heck, i'm still sitting in "beach traffic" every afternoon. but this too, shall pass.

i haven't lit the pumpkin spice candle.

yet...

9 comments:

Kelly said...

Woo wee! I can relate and I don't even have a job in a tourist town. I've never been ready for back to school, love having my kids around in the summer, love wiling away the hours sunbaked and sweaty. But this year, D.O.N.E!

I'll light a pumpkin spice in your honor.

Natasha said...

Fall is my favorite time of year. Not that we get a "fall" here in southern Louisiana though. We start school here Monday and I'm excited that gets us closer to fall soccer, caramel apples, and all the fall activities.

Kelly said...

I feel like I've lost autumn when we moved to Arizona, and I miss it so much. I need to try harder for that indoor fall ambiance since I know we're staring down at least 3 more months of super hot. Sounds like you are well on your way to a lovely autumn, though!

P.S. Your comment about your Julie McCoy mentality made me laugh out loud. Love it!

Kim Sue said...

i am an Autumn soul too and I loved this - it made me have a little mental break from the heat and makes me want to make a pot of chili!

patsy said...

DITTO!!!

I love fall, even though it's hot I can feel a tiny bit of it in the air- can't wait

Jill said...

"i am an Autumn soul who lives in a Summer town." I love this sentence and totally relate.

donna said...

I love summer.. I could use a few more months of warm swimming weather, before the long fall and winter comes....

Alisha said...

I'm with Donna, but if I had your job I'd be with you. :)

Happy fall to you!

michelle said...

I'm an Autumn soul, too! I'm impressed that you're bringing out the Fall while it's still hot. Way to go, Julie McCoy.