The Case for August Blues....

The best thing about August, the Starlight train ride in Sumpter, Oregon

Everybody knows that August is the Worst Month in the World. Or is it just me? I've always hated August! Why? Well, for starters, August is the last month of summer and when the greenery that was so welcome back in March finally loses hold of it's chlorophyll and succumbs to the dry and hot conditions of an Idaho summer. So the green fades to brown and everything looks depressingly parched. Basically, everything is dying, and looks it.

Soon, the halcyon days of summer will be a memory, and like the song from the 80's, "..the summer sun sets all alone". Now if that's not sad, I don't know WHAT is! Also, I was born in August, the very peak of the worse-ity, August 29th, and rather than look forward to the anniversary of my birth, I've always dreaded it. It probably is because I was a rather morbid child, but from an early age, I have always been hyper conscious of my mortality, and every August, it's another reminder that I'm closer to death. Now that I'm errr.....32 years in to my eventually death, the effect is rather heightened.

You'd think that having children would make me hate the end of summer less, right? Nope! First of all, I had the good sense to have my children in tidy batches, two in April, two in July, and poor little Callie, stranded with a November birthday. So there is no GOOD thing to celebrate in August, and I really, really hate sending my children back to school and the end of summer for their sake. I felt like I never really experiences summer until I experienced it through their eyes, and I always cry at the first day of school. Now I get to cry not just once or twice, but THRICE I have to cry for a lost summer.

Not that they're going anywhere, I'm actually homeschooling all but Andrew, but it's still sad. Why can't the school find something else to do rather than FORCE us to get up and dressed at a reasonable hour instead of lounging about in our jammies until noon and having movie afternoons? I guess I'm somewhat rebellious, for an adult and I HATE having a schedule.

So every August, I become more and more morose about the idea of August, while I go about every mom's business of procuring school clothes, Nike shoes in bulk, and pencils that I'm convinced the school system hides immediately upon surrender. Then school starts, and I cry, and then.....

September! My favorite month! More on that later.....

Stormy Weather

 http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Dust-storm-blowing-through-Owyhee-County-165090796.html

Late summer in Idaho is always a time of EXTREME heat and frequent thunderstorms, although this year has been especially bad for both.

At the beginning of the summer, the air conditioner in my 10 year old trusty SUV went out, and having just recently paid the thing (which we bought used) off, I couldn't justify sinking money into what is essentially, a luxury. Oh, how I've eaten my words! Naturally, this would be the hottest summer in 5 years!

Most years, I'm comfortably ensconced in both air-conditioned car AND our 3 year old state of the art, high efficiency central a/c (which is the best investment we've made- ever), and the summers don't bother me too much. I really dislike heat. Intensely. This year though, spending so much time in my workshop AND not having a cool car has really taken a toll on me. Although I know I'm coming out of it MUCH better acclimated to heat. Not gonna lie, it hasn't been overly fun.

One bonus is that I've had fewer migraines this summer than last, but on the other hand, the storms that keep rolling through are playing havoc on the rest of my body. I have a genetic, apparently degenerative joint disorder that is usually no more than an annoyance. Every time a storm rolls through, I can feel it in my bones- literally. I'm strongly opposed to taking pain medicine, normally I don't even take Advil. But I must admit, a few times this summer I've wondered if it would REALLY be that bad for me to go to my doctor and say, "Ok- done this for 30 years, whip out that rx pad!". For years and years, it was mainly my knees that had the most pain, but lately (probably because of all the typing/packaging/soapmaking) my shoulders and wrists have been the worst.

I'm not ready to go there YET, though! Normally a hot bath and some rest fixes me up just fine, it's just annoying to be a human barometer. But in case anyone was wondering, yes there's a storm a-comin'. Just saying.....