AUGUST

August is a weird month. Technically it's still summer but for some reason, not. It just feels off a little. We strip away the carelessness of June and July, ratchet up the stress a bit, rush the kids off to school and then, in Louisiana, wait for a hurricane and sweat.

To be fair, September is fake fall and not much better. Still miserably hot, but filled with the lies we tell ourselves that a cool weekend is soon. It's never soon. September is just disappointing August, it's only upside,  it's proximity to October.

If I had to pick a favorite month, I think it would be October. Well, if it's cool. Which in these trying times, is a total crapshoot. October reminds me of college, of football, of road-trips, of REM's, Lifes Rich Pageant, the song Fall on Me.

Did you know REM left the apostrophe off of "LIfes" on purpose. I just read this the other day. The more you know.

March is my second favorite month. That first sunburn from a blue sky St. Patrick's day parade. When skin cancer is still a risk three months away. A last cold weekend.

Reading back on the above, maybe I'm just over being freaking hot and miserable all the time. This checks out.

A perfunctory glance shows that Louisiana shares longitude with Morocco and the upper Sahara. Except it's soaking wet so you get the same temperatures and 100% humidity. Things are starting to make sense now.

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The good news is that it's now 115 days until Christmas, and then 7 days later, 2023 will be here, and then somehow, I'll be 75. The years, accelerating, me, pulling, clawing, pushing against, to slow them down. Failing, but aware.

August can really feel like life in general. You blink and it's gone. The flaw (or maybe the sarcastic coincidence) in this example is that if August is life, then September would start the afterlife. This feels inherently wrong, though the idea of starting whatever is next with a three day weekend sounds okay.

If you've made it to this point, I imagine you're saying to yourself.

"What in the actual hell is he getting at?

What is this even about?"

The good news is that I don't really know. Some mornings, I just think stuff and say it. It need not make a whole lot of sense.

Maybe it makes you question something and start your day out focused.

Maybe you consider what your favorite month is and turn to a friend or loved one and mutter. "Man. Fuck June. It's the worst."  They may look back and say. "I know, right!"  Then you'll know this is one of your people. Maybe they'll stare back and think "How did I end up here?"

Maybe you'll think fondly of college. Of "back in the day". Of road trips, favorite songs and years that seemed to creep by.

Hopefully you'll smile, pause and think of the mundane. Be thankful that there's no hurricane in the Gulf (if your in a place that has hurricanes), breathe in deep. Relax.

Maybe you'll put on that favorite fall album, roll down the windows, turn it up...and keep sweating.

Because. Yes.

It's still hot.

#hugsandhi5s