Hello August. Please Do Your Thing And Leave Quickly.

Bring on the fall!

There is a part of me that is shocked that it’s already August. Where has the year gone? Where have the last three years gone?

The world shutting down due to Covid should have made everything feel slower, but instead, at least for me… 2020 flew by in a blink, I’m not sure that I even remember 2021 happening, and now 2022 feels like warp speed. I swear just yesterday I was celebrating New Year's Eve at my brother’s house yet somehow now it’s the 8th month of the year?

How did that happen and where was I?

It’s shocking, but honestly, I hope this part of the year continues to fly by and the next season begins as quickly as possible.

I. Hate. Summer.

I spent too long trapped in the endless summer of southern Florida to give a rats ass about warm weather and longer days that I definitely do not spend at the beach.

I despise being hot, but more than that, heat is dangerous to my chinchilla so our electric bill skyrockets in the summer. We have four air conditioner units running at all times, two of which are in one room to keep it as cold as possible for the chinchilla. That means we also have to run a dehumidifier because two ACs blasting from either side of the room create a lot of humidity… which is also bad for said chinchilla.

They’re very high-maintenance pets and while I love mine endlessly and would do whatever it takes to keep him alive, I always tell people who think that they want one… to reconsider it.

Beyond that, summer steals an hour from your life… and your sleep… with the archaic Daylight Savings Time system that the world no longer needs. I want it gone… but not until we turn the clocks back. Bring on the early darkness. Bring on the cool crisp air. Bring on the changing of the leaves. Bring on Autumn!

I left Florida for a myriad of reasons, mostly because I never wanted to live there in the first place, and absolutely despise the state as a whole. But heat all the time? No thank you with a bullet. When we left, one of the things that I was most excited about was CHANGING SEASONS.

We moved in the middle of December. A strange time of year to pack up your life and move to New England… but you’re reading the words of someone who moved to south Florida in August. I do things in weird ways. You get used to it. Plus I missed seven years of holidays with my family. I was going to be home for Christmas and I didn’t care how that had to happen as long as it happened. So this year will be my first Autumn in a very long time… and Autumn is without a doubt, my favorite season.

With the one exception of the pumpkin spice takeover of literally everything (stop it. Just stop it!), I love everything about the Fall. It’s usually warm but not too hot during the day only to get cooler at night, the leaves change color in a majestic fashion, layered clothing makes me happy, I get to dress up my pets for Halloween… what’s not to love? Plus, now that I live near my brother, I get to take part in all of his Fall traditions. Apple picking with our friends at an orchard that is dog-friendly, carving pumpkins, having a Halloween party, going to festivals, etc. I can not wait! My work schedule may mean I have to miss out on some of it… but I will get to do a lot of it and it’s going to be amazing!

I am not one of those people that likes to speed up the year, typically. I was shocked when I walked into the pet store where my animal hospital is located only to find that Halloween items were set out for sale on July 30th. Too soon, pet store. Too soon! I absolutely HATE how early Christmas begins… which is earlier every year, I’m actually surprised that stuff isn’t available for sale yet. But I will speed through summer every single year. I say, keep the holidays in the months that they belong to, stop turning the damn clocks ahead, and let summer pass as quickly as possible. That’s my idea of a good year.

Heat and humidity are not just bad for one of my own pets, they’re bad for all animals. This year, I saw far fewer patients that fell victim to it than I would see in Florida… but we did have a heat stroke dog (he died) and one with severely burned paw pads. There are warnings every single year but every single year, those warnings are ignored and animals pay the price. And I don’t fight for anything as much as I fight for animals. Summer also brings fireworks… which terrify most animals. I’m just not about the summer at all. For any reason. Even slightly.

Heat is gross. I don’t understand why anyone would enjoy being hot. When you’re hot there’s only so much you can take off before you’re just naked and still sweating and in most places, that’s highly frowned upon. When you’re cold you can always add more layers, a cozy blanket, a warm beverage (preferably pumpkin spice free), or enjoy a nice hot bubble bath or crackling fire.

There are fewer bugs as Autumn goes on until they’re all dormant for the cold seasons. I’m not a fan of waving flies away from me and being bitten by mosquitoes. I’m even less a fan of the fact that mosquitoes carry heartworms and way too many pet owners shirk prevention to protect their pets. I’m not a fan of sunscreen clogging my pores or sweat into my eyes. I’m even less a fan of sunburns and melanoma. I really, really hate summer.

I prefer boots to flip-flops (I don’t even own flip-flops), orchards to beaches (I do not swim in bodies of water that contain fish… though I understand their importance to our ecosystem), long sleeves to tank tops, shivering to sweating, and darkness early and later light. I love the nighttime. Let it come by dinner… I’m fine with that.

I am genuinely shocked by how fast this year… and the two before it… flew by. But this particular month can fly, fly, fly. I’ve been looking forward to a real Autumn for so long and now I’m finally going to get one. Christmas may have a corner on the song, but if you ask me… Fall is the most wonderful time of the year.

Thank you, Ellie Jacobson for this prompt. I don’t have a summer reading list so I did this one instead. My reading habits don’t change by the season because I’m busy year-round. I was glad there was another option available.