Waiting for the Leaves to Turn Brown

Inspirational song: Clock Moves Sideways (Fish)

I just can't do it anymore. I can't stand waiting for summer to be over. I survived July, just barely, and there's still most of August to go. Will it ever end? This week will heat up and be hell-adjacent by Thursday. The rest of the country got to have a second shot at the polar vortex, some places seeing record low temps in July. But for my moist little home, we considered it nice when the high temperatures were only in the mid-80s. I don't think it has rained as much as last year, but it has still rained enough that every inch of the Park is soggy and moldy and smells like swamp. I'm desperate for dryer air, soft or even brisk breezes, and nights cool enough that I can both leave windows open at night and say good riddance to the mosquitoes and spiders. When it's March, I can't wait for the growing season. When it's August I can't wait to see the annuals turn brown and stop demanding attention. I'm so fickle.

I get like this every year. It's never a surprise when I refuse to set foot outside, and spend all my waking hours grousing about the heat. But there's always so much to look forward to in the fall, how could I not be in the habit of wanting summer to end? This was always the time of year when marching band practice started, and I loved that. I promised myself last year I'd go lurk where I could watch the local high school band practice, but I never did. If I can find a way for it not to be creepy, I'm going to do it. I've admitted that I was enough of a nerd that I liked it when school started up again. And now that I don't have any classes of my own, and I no longer have kids in school, I'm going to need to figure out how to live without buying school supplies. I rarely actually need more spiral bound notebooks, but that has never stopped me from getting them before. They're an addiction. Luckily they are an exceptionally cheap habit. I'm trying to be strong, and avoid going near that part of the stores. Maybe I can just buy a little, and then find a charity to donate them to after I get the high of picking out packs of crayons and erasers and loose leaf paper. I'm getting a little shaky just thinking about them.

I made a solid move towards autumn last night. I put the call out to the gang, to see who was ready for another round of fantasy football, and I reactivated the league for what I believe is our tenth go-round. We aren't super competitive, and there hasn't been a prize other than pride. But that doesn't mean we don't love having the excuse to watch all the games. I think as league commissioner, it's time for me to see what I can do to step up the possible reward. I don't think any of us want to pay to have a league, but there must be some kind of prize we can come up with.

Autumn has to come soon. I've started looking longingly at my favorite colors (see "Plum, Rust, and Mustard" blog post from this time last year), and I'm ready to start wearing the greatest fabric of all time: lightweight rib knit. I pulled out the spiced berries scented wax for the warmer, and I have started cooking with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg again. I am counting the days, but I'm losing patience with waiting, and I'm just indulging in some of my favorite fall activities. Can't Starbucks just go ahead and bring out the pumpkin spice lattes? The clocks aren't moving forward fast enough. I swear they're just going sideways, to spite me.