Thinkin' About August

Thinkin’ About August

 

By John W. Vander Velden

 

August is one of those months that seem to pass unnoticed.  That is if you don’t have kids going back to school…or college…or are a student yourself...or are a teacher for that matter.  Then August is one of those REALLY important months.  But growing up we didn’t start classes until September…in college mid-September. 

But August is no less important that the other eleven months.  It holds its unique place in the calendar with summer’s closing.  Some of the hottest days of the year usually fall in August.  Dog days they are called.  But the days are growing shorter and the mornings carry a bit more mist than June and July.  The spider’s webs sparkle with dew on clear mornings.  The corn has reached its full height, dark green with swelling ears.  Signs that the year reaches toward autumn.  August tell us yes, fall is on the way…but not here yet, summer is very much alive.  

August for most is a bit more laid back, a month with no national holidays, a time that may contain leisurely end of summer vacation escapes, a time to slow down. For me the month is a time to evaluate the possible success of the year’s crop.  Time spent stripping ears and peering into rows of tall soybean plants…wondering if the harvest will be good.  It is a time to mentally prepare for the next big season…and the completion of another crop year.  It is a time for getting the equipment rearranged and ready.  I spend time mowing fencerows and farm lots, worrying about new flush of weeds invisible only days before.  There are always things to do and usually more than time allows.  But busy is better than the alternative, not that I wouldn’t enjoy leisure. But I see leisure as choosing to be less busy, which is a far cry from not having things to do. 

August remind me of change.  The changing seasons.  The changing year.  But most of all I am reminded of the changes in life.  A great many have occurred in August’s past.  I try not to dwell on the dark changes that have come in summer’s years ago, doing my best to focus on the positive.  Not always easy but worth the effort. Changes are as much a part of life as anything.  And though I, personally, resist change, I must acknowledge that change is a good thing…mostly.  Perhaps I should tell myself that that truth more often.  It could make me more flexible.  There’s a time to be an Oak and a time to be a Willow…if you get my meaning. 

So I hope you enjoy these last days of August.  Take each as it is.  Make the most out of each and every one of them.  Change is a commin’.  The summer will not go on till December.  But it’s August and there’s plenty of summer left…providing you grasp each moment.  For each day is unique…even in late August… 

(501 Words)  8-25-2016