waiting for fall

The heat is overwhelming. It covers you in a wet blanket as soon as you walk out the door. Grass is dying, lakes are drying up and Lila has not seen noon outside in weeks. And forget about pool time; after 15 minutes you are smack dab in the middle of a heat stroke.

I miss long walks outside. I miss feeling a chill in the air. I miss drinking my coffee hot. I miss opening the bedroom windows while we sleep and huddling under the covers. Not only do I have our normal fall memories to look forward to but this year, we have a whole new set of fall clothes in the house.

Pink polka dots. And ruffles. I die.

I want to see Lila's eyes grow wide at the changing of the fall leaves. I want to see her roll around in the grass in a sweatshirt. I cannot wait to see her smile as she touches the baby chicks at the NC State Fair. This year's fall will smell so much sweeter than I ever could have imagined.

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious

as autumn sunshine by staying in the house.

So I spend almost all the daylight hours

in the open air.

~Nathaniel Hawthorne