How is it double-digit August already?
I am not sure who approved this, but I would like to file an objection.
It feels like we were just making plans for Memorial Day. We just celebrated America’s 250 at the lake with family and friends. We were making summer plans, looking forward to long evenings, cookouts, vacations, and all the things we promise ourselves we are going to do when life finally slows down.
Then we blinked.
Suddenly, the calendar says August 11. Double digits. That phrase alone makes me nervous.
‘That is what August does to me: it makes me nostalgic for the calmer days and leaves me wondering if I took full advantage of the time.‘
August has always been a little sneaky. To me, it always feels like summer is just getting started in June. July feels like there is plenty of time left. Then August arrives. Suddenly, everyone is talking about school starting.
The stores are filled with notebooks, crayons, and backpacks. Parents are trying to figure out where the summer went. Teachers are preparing their classrooms. College students are getting ready to head back to campus. We are moving our youngest back for another year later this week.
When I was growing up, summer seemed to last forever. Three glorious months felt like an eternity. No alarm clocks! We would wake up in the morning without much of a plan and somehow fill the entire day. There were swimming pools, bicycles, friends, ballgames, family gatherings, and evenings that seemed to go on forever.
Nobody was checking a calendar. Some days you would even forget what day it was. Nobody was worried about getting everyone to the next activity. We simply enjoyed being there. Come home when the streetlights come on.
Why does adulthood have a way of speeding up time? Is it because our calendars are fuller? Maybe it is because we spend so much of our lives looking ahead to the next meeting, the next event, the next deadline, the next election, the next season. We are always preparing for what comes next.
Then one day, we look around and realize the moment we were waiting for has already passed.
‘Summer does not announce its departure. It simply gets a little shorter each evening.’
That is what August does to me: it makes me nostalgic for the calmer days and leaves me wondering if I took full advantage of the time. It should remind me to slow down.
I should embrace that there is still plenty of summer left. The evenings are still warm, and while the days are getting shorter, it is still light into the evening. There are still opportunities for a cookout, trips to the lake, a conversation on the porch, or simply sitting outside without having anywhere else to be.
We should probably take advantage of it. We need to take advantage of it. Because before we know it, we will be complaining about cold weather.
August also brings another unmistakable sign that time is moving. Political campaigns are gearing up. The signs will begin appearing. Mailboxes will become crowded with flyers. Candidates will be knocking on doors, attending festivals and community events, and introducing themselves to voters.
For those of us who have spent time in politics, there is something familiar about this time of year. The energy changes. The conversations become more political. Candidates become more visible. Campaign teams will be cranking out the hours. People start talking about who is running, who is supporting whom, and what the next election might mean.
I have spent enough years in politics to know that campaigns can bring out the very best and the very worst in people. Competition is healthy. Passion is healthy. Disagreement is healthy. What is not healthy is forgetting that there are real people on the other side of every political argument. We can disagree without being disagreeable. We can support different candidates without becoming enemies. We can challenge ideas without attacking people.
‘I am not ready for the calendar to fill up again. Perhaps that is exactly why we should pay attention to these days.‘
That seems particularly important as we head toward another election season. Pay attention to the candidates. It is important to ask questions. Look at their records. See how they have voted. See how they carry themselves.
Listen to what they say, but also consider what they have actually done. Perhaps most importantly, remember that politics is supposed to be about people. It is about the people who are sending their children back to school. It is about the people who are trying to make mortgage payments.
It should be about the people who are building businesses, working jobs, caring for aging parents, and trying to give their families a better life. Those are the people who matter. Those are the people who should be at the center of every campaign, not those seeking the title.
So yes, I am still trying to figure out how it is already double-digit August. While I am excited for family reasons in September (our son is getting married to a wonderful young lady), I am not ready for summer to end. I am not ready for the relaxed pace to disappear completely. I am not ready for the calendar to fill up again. Perhaps that is exactly why we should pay attention to these days.
Summer does not announce its departure. It simply gets a little shorter each evening. The kids go back to school. The campaign signs go up. The calendar turns another page. One day you’re driving home from work, and it is dark. I don’t even want to think about that right now.
Suddenly, we are wondering where the time went. Maybe the answer is that we were busy living it. If so, I suppose that is not such a bad thing. But I am still going to ask for a few more summer days. I promise to use them wisely.
