End of summer drag

Today is the first day of August, which means that there are still a few weeks before school begins and the real monotony of the schedule takes over. Summer is still in full swing and there are plenty more days at the beach and the pool to be had. It is still hot, so steamy hot that eyeglasses fog over once you leave the house and you begin to sweat just thinking about how hot it's going to be once you open the front door. Your legs instantly stick to the car seats and the grass in your yard gave up its fight for growth a long time ago. The humidity gauge reads 70%, but I think that's a lie. It probably succumbed to the heat, too.

There are no school buses to dodge in the afternoons, no homework assignments to complete, and no lunches to pack in the wee hours of the morning. There is still plenty of time to binge watch Netflix shows for the third time and to sleep in after staying up late just because you can. Walmart has aisles of school supplies for sale at rock bottom prices, but you haven't even bothered to shop for them yet. The school year is weeks away, not tomorrow. Many days lay ahead in which to celebrate the glory that is summer vacation.

Yet when I awoke this morning, a feeling of something akin to dread was nibbling at my bones. Summer vacation IS almost over and the sense of impending doom is almost palpable. It's not that I hate school – I don't. As a school teacher, I enjoy my work and my students and the challenge that it is to edu-ma-cate them the best that I can. But summer...summer is sacred, you know? It never lasts long enough and I don't know of anyone who actually accomplishes everything on their summer to-do list. Sure, it's hot and muggy and air conditioning is a gift from the Lord, but come the those bitter winter winds of January, I don't hear anyone complaining about how hot summer was.

So here we are, dreading the end of summer as much as we are the beginning of the school year. My neighborhood is stocked with kids who are bored out of their minds, but not enough to wish that school would start back so soon. They would rather empty the dishwasher and vacuum the den than to sit at a desk all day or ride that cramped bus home. Anything but the end of summer.

But alas, the time is almost upon us. If you haven't yet gone fishing, pulled out the canoe, visited your aunt or uncle in the mountains, gone to see that movie, built a campfire on the beach, or simply sat on your porch listening to the crickets and the katydids, don't fret. You still have time. Don't worry, you will also have your weekends to check those things off of your list, too. And don't forget, college football starts back soon, which is proof that there is indeed a God who loves us.

Oh, and it's gonna stay hot at least through the month of September, so you've got that going for you as well.

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