AUGUST. . .

August is well and truly with us. The eighth month of the year, middle month of the summer season. A time of picnics, final vacation trips before school starts, gearing up for a new school year with fresh-bought gym shoes, backpacks, shorts-and-tees, and whatever supplies the school decrees are required for the coming year's attractions.

Except--not this year.

Schools have started in my geographical area--some last week, some this week. 


Attendance is (1) at school, in person, wearing a mask; or (2) at home, in front of a computer, for e-learning provided by the school district; or (3) at home, provided (usually) by parent(s) of the student; or (4) perhaps in a multi-family pod that creates a small school feeling.

Online classes at colleges and universities have become the new norm, not an option. 

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My friend's daughter, a second-year college student going for a nursing degree, has made a tentative peace with online studies for some of her courses. Her travel to the campus is reduced from four or five days to two, thus saving her money on fuel.

Some students don't have the option to remain at home; in some schools, athletes have to attend classes in person if they want to continue in their sports.

Bands and choirs are mostly discontinued in my area. 

Schools are limiting attendance at athletics events to two tickets per athlete. This allows for social distancing in the bleachers.

No, it's not what we expect when we talk about a new school year starting.


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August is also the month that heralds Labor Day--in my community, that's the time for classic car buffs to gather for food, auctions, and various types of hoop-la and fun. That's been cancelled also.

Looking ahead, the county fair is also off the calendar.

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I'm trying to come up with a positive outlook here. Not that we want these events and formerly well-established activities to be gone for good. That's not positive.

But, when something's gone, we do have to deal with that as a fact. It may come back another year, yes. And, it may not.

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Here are some suggestions for silver linings:

--we're being given the opportunity to make our own fun. Won't be the same, goes without saying. Can still be fun. For those of us who were around in the pre-electronic period, there were only home grown activities. Home movies were made and shown. Kids wrote their own plays and produced them. Older kids learned what is now called a trade--woodworking, sewing, quilt making, cooking and baking. Folks visited with each other--wrote letters and sent cards--took drives in the countryside to see the crops, other people's flower gardens, or buy veggies at roadside stands.

--less travel to school or job means a savings on fuel, as my friend's daughter quickly realized. In a time when money may be scarce, that savings can be valuable.

--we're also finding we can grow our own food (lots of folks have had gardens all their lives); even if we don't can and freeze the produce for next winter, we'll enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits from our own plants and bushes and trees.

--if we need to make space for others to live with us, we can finally go through all those boxes of stuff that have accumulated in the spare room. Old pictures? Share them with the grandchildren so they'll know what their parents looked like as youngsters. (One of my grandsons said looking at his grandfather's photo was like looking in a mirror.)

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August may not be what you hoped it would be, or expected it to look like. But we can still experience summertime. The grass is brown until we get a few more rains. Mowing is down to every ten days. The outdoor plants need watering nearly every day. Bird feeders need filling often. And when there's a nice breeze, we can sit outside and enjoy it.

I see a few big yellow school buses making their rounds. And I see kids in my neighborhood riding bikes or walking to the bus stop.

In ten years, or twenty, new adults will be telling their children and possibly grandchildren all about the years when so much of life was shut down and we had to make our own fun, had to rely on each other in different ways, learned a lot about staying alive and healthy in a time of uncertainty and stress. 

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Have a blessed week! Stay safe . . . help others . . . give thanks.

Always arriving in early August