Summer is too short (and trying to get excited about Fall)

by LynDee Walker of the Femmes Fatales.

Summer. From long school days of countdown calendars and decreasing homework to blazing afternoons in courthouse hallways that never seemed to be air conditioned waiting for a jury to return a verdict, to endless Richmond sunshine by the pool, it’s always been my favorite season. 

Heat? Eh, I grew up in Texas, so most of the time Virginia is tolerable if not downright lovely. And I love the farmers markets and fresh produce, my littles being home from school, and the later daylight. 

I only wish it would stop flying by faster every year. 

It’s after Labor Day, my children are back in school, and I’m back at my desk in a quiet house—and none of that is bad. My littles are bright and curious and they love school and are fortunate to go to schools where they are loved and thriving. I love my work and am having great fun catching up with Nichelle. 

But I feel like school just got out. I just turned in a book. And I blinked twice and it’s September. I’m not alone: just about every mom I’ve talked to the past two weeks has the same story. Chatting with a friend at elementary Back to School night last week, we figured part of it out: we miss the long lazy summers we had when they were little. Back then,
dragging half the house to the pool and juggling a stroller and the sleepy toddler of the moment just to get in an activity for the day, our young mom selves couldn’t wait for the littles to be older. Now that they are, they’re all so busy the days blur into months and before I know it we’re buying book bags and packing lunches and running out the door to the bus again. We want the lazy days back, but with the older kids we love to hang out with (and who carry their own pool stuff). I’ve decided my mission this year is to figure out how to make that happen. Any and all ideas welcome.

But for now, it’s nonstop homework and projects and basketball—two more blinks and Christmas will be here, four and they’ll be out for another summer I’ll hopefully be better equipped to stretch and savor and make great memories with. I miss it, but I also dislike sadness and looking back.

This week, I’m focusing on the things I love about Fall, and there are many: campfires and turning leaves, jeans and boots and cooler days, football and soups and family time on Sundays. And my new book! LEAVE NO STONE is coming November 19 from Severn River Publishing, and it is the best thing I’ve ever written. It’s also my first hardcover release, and the first-off the press copy got here just in time to cushion the end of summer blues with a big shiny book launch to look forward to. For the next couple of months, I'll be profiling a new book I love in my
slots here, so even the staunchest summer fans among us can find something to get excited about.

How about you, Femmes and readers? What do you love about Autumn? And don't forget to tell me what books you're looking forward to!

Comments

[Mark]

I’m a summer person, and I hate the winds we get in So Cal this time of year. The only redeeming part of fall is knowing Christmas is on the horizon.

[krisneri]

In the SW we suffer from monsoon rainstorms in July and August, and higher humidity than we're used to. The fall here is sunny and dry and cooler than the worst of summer. Perfect weather. It's my favorite season.

[Deb Romano]

I don’t like anything about fall. It just brings aches and pains from the cold, and then things get even worse with winter. I hate having to put on more layers of clothing just to feel normal! Then there are the longer and longer dark nights...