Ed. — From the Sunday, Aug. 13, print edition.
VIRGINIA BEACH — August announces itself at our house through a teenager.
It seems that, within a day or two of the calendar flipping over from July, my 13-year-old daughter will voice her disappointment summer is winding down and the first day of school beckons.
“I wish the summer lasted longer,” is the refrain so many of us with young people know.
Then, in almost the same breath, she’ll add, “I wish the weather would cool down. It’s so hot.”
Therein lies one of the many paradoxes of life and how it passes.
On the surface, my daughter seemingly believes both expressions without contradiction.
Yes, August does bring nearer the unofficial end of summer and the re-opening of the schools. It also brings us ever closer to the beauty of autumn and, especially in these parts, cooler temperatures.
Stifling humidity takes its vacation. The fall décor and Halloween candy itches to leap onto store shelves.
All this makes it challenging for many of us to really enjoy August.
I recently asked her why the mere arrival of August tends to send her into a tizzy each year. She made the point that August is one of those months that has both an arrival and a departure.
It’s four weeks of relishing that final vacation, late sunsets, green leaves on the trees, late bedtimes and even later sleep-ins – and the relative absence of deep algebraic or grammatical thoughts.
But along with the relish comes the reality that change is coming, that things are marching on.
This can be unwelcome.
We want the cooler weather, the football, the pumpkin spice flavors, the crisp cool night, and the beautiful changing of the colors of the trees.
But we know there is a cost.
We will lose our days in the ocean, hours of sunlight, weeks of summer vacation, and the acceptable wearing of shorts and tees to just about every place we go.
This is August to my daughter – and to me as well.
The passage of summer is bittersweet.
I am pretty sure that started around the time I was 10. When I was a boy, our family went on a family campout every Labor Day weekend, a last blast of summer fun.
My sisters and I knew school was a mere 48 hours away. We, too, would wish summer would go on.
I want to make peace with August and appreciate it for what it offers and for what it is.
Sure, August carries some baggage such as the abysmal heat and humidity. But it still provides us with hours of sunlight, vacation opportunities and relaxation on the beach.
Then it introduces us to a friend, September, as a lovely parting gift.
I want to keep myself in the moment as summer ends, to enjoy time with my family, even in the heat.
Sweater weather comes soon enough, and we are lucky to see that, too.
The author, a business coach and consultant, is active in community service and enjoys time with his wife, Kim, and daughter, Kara. Reach him via email at mckco85@aol.com.
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