August is one of those months where when I was young in middle school, in high school, other than it being part of summer vacation, was when nothing went on. There were no holidays in August that we celebrated.
There was nothing spectacular going on. Maybe school shopping would be a welcome reprieve. I hated summers off from school. School was an escape for me, even though I hated everything about the middle school and the (first) high school I attended. (The second and final high school I attended was a means to an end and I could not be bothered to hate it.)
As an adult, now, August holds a lot more for me. I have a lot of family with August birthdays. Our youngest child has an August birthday. I found out how many relatives, including my own mother, have an August birthday.
August 1 is also Lammas. This is the celebration of the first harvest. For me, first harvest is Mother Nature putting us on notice that Summer coming to a close while Autumn is flirting around the edges of life, waiting to dive in.
I do realize that August is typically the hottest month of the year (around here).
For the record, I am not a Summer or hot weather person in any way. This is something that has gotten worse for me as I have gotten older, as menopause has come and gone, as I have to take medications to manage chronic health issues.
I am an Autumn and Winter person. I love Spring, but dread it as well because it is the harbinger of Summer. I need to live in cooler climes. This is something we as a family are actually working on (more on this another time).
Despite the August heat, August is a breath of fresh air for me. This year has been all about change and shifts for me. I have had so much going on, on so many levels, and August is like a break from everything that has been going on.
August is my second wind. August puts me on notice that my time is coming, that my time of year is coming.
August is when I start making plans. Our son and I start planning for Halloween. I start plotting things about the December holidays.
August for me has become a month to relax into the process of evaluating and updating my practices, if that makes nay sense. August is my time to review things. Summers the part few years have been more about me just getting through them, to make it to the Autumn, to the Winter, when I can relax and be me.
Summer for me is more a time of hibernation and hiding out in the house because outside is too miserable for me to do more than the bare minimum. This is a shame because I typically do have plans of things I want to do for the summer, outside in our yard, planting a garden, planting flowers. Heck, I have not fed the birds since the beginning of July because it is too hot for me to go out and refill the feeders.
If you are saying, you can’t even go outside for five minutes to fill bird feeders, what is wrong with you? Let me tell you.
When my husband is at work, I have to take our dogs outside. We got out for five to ten minutes. We come back in the house.
By this time, I am literally drenched in sweat to the point where I either want/need a shower or a clothing change. After giving out the dog treats (a requirement our girls will NOT let me ignore), I wash my face and neck in cold water. Sometimes I have to change my shirt (and bra). I drink bottles of cold water. I will continue to sweat, and fight the nausea, fight the faintness, fight the headache, for up to an hour afterwards.
When I say I am not a hot-weather person, I mean it.
August is a month of hope for me.
What about you? What does August bring up for you? How does it make you feel? Let me know in the comments.
Tabitha Low 