I'm enjoying a popsicle. It's still quite hot in the desert, something that always gets under my skin right around September that makes me want to whine like my two-year-old. Growing up in Oregon, the first week in September usually brought the state fair to my family and me. (Then school stated after Labor Day.) The fair's student-built machinery, over-sized produce, scarecrow building area, displays of quilts, award-winning baked goods, and newly hatched chicks all announce that Autumn is just around the corner. In fact, after the fair, I would concede that Summer was officially over...a depressing admission for a school-aged child. All summer long, we would not allow ourselves to utter the dreaded "s" word. "School", that is.
Now that my school days are far behind me, I see school supplies in the stores as early as July (desert-dwellers return to school in August, which is cheating the poor children if you ask me, since August is actually considered a summer month). My heart starts to race as my eyes fix themselves upon the packages of unsharpened pencils, rulers and protractors, and the latest and greatest in backpacks! My body aches for the FALL season that is just around the corner!!! School supplies means that it will be here soon!
Or NOT.
It's hard not to scoff at the tantalizing fall foliage at Michael's; tell Starbucks to keep their Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Caramel Apple Spice drinks. The scorching sun sneers at us all, and I now know from experience that leaves - what few we have - won't change colors and drop to the ground until Christmas time. Maybe January. Is this wrong to anyone else!? Surrounded by natives to the desert, I mourn for those who don't even realize what they're missing. Warm days fade into crisp evenings. Mornings warn that Winter isn't so many months away.
Over the years I have tried various tactics to fool myself into thinking relief is near. I have burned pumpkin scented candles, brewed a lovely variety of tea, baked various Fall treats, and even changed the home decor to match the season. But it's all a mockery. Nothing I do will make the sun release it's grip one day sooner. However, I can't just give in. So for the 8th time, I will pull out the season's kitchen towels, I will burn my candles, and I may even drink some tea...if my body can handle the heat. I will
2 comments:
As a Washingtonian, I would also have a hard time living in the desert. I love the weather here in the Pacific Northwest.
I just have to say, though, that your label cracked me up. Particularly when I went to your sidebar to see how many posts you had under that label... and I discovered that it's the only label you have (and this is the first post you've labeled). Oh my!
Said a prayer that God would give you some rain and at least one freakish evening of fall weather. :)
I feel your pain girl!! We don't hardly get fall either.
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