That Odd Uneven Time

End of summer/back to school is the VIBE

Last time: Battle Ducks & Origin Stories

Photo by Toni Cuenca on Unsplash

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.” —Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Here’s what I’m not sad about (in no particular order):

• Back to school clothes and supplies and Meet the Teacher Nights

• Cooler weather (I felt a breeze in the south yesterday so it’s coming)

• Routines that include changing out of our pajamas, waking a bit earlier, and earlier bedtimes.

As much as I always need summer break, by August I seem to also need the fall to get here. Fast. The humidity makes even walking to the mailbox feel like wading through soup and I’m antsy to create my new syllabi, meet my new students, and be a little (or a lot) more productive than my restless summer self.

This “odd, uneven time" is a whole vibe. We’re eating more ice cream and playing in the rain. More after-dinner walks while there’s still sunlight and trips to the pool. We have to enjoy it while it lasts.

South Carolina peaches are the best peaches

If I’m totally honest: the writer side of me is bursting with new ideas and I’m eager to get back to my regular scheduled #5amwritersclub programming. It’s been a summer of querying new agents (re: waiting) and starting (but not finishing) lots of projects. I think I finally found the new book idea I want to live with for a while. I’m on the ledge of a half dozen new obsessions, the kind that keep me interested in a project long term.

Or maybe I’m just more hopeful than I need to be. But cynical and jaded isn’t the mood for August. Give me another few months and we’ll cycle back around.

All of this to say this newsletter will get back to a “normal” schedule soon enough. I’m sifting through ideas for a few changes to form and structure. And I’m glad you’re here.

What’s on the agenda for you this August? Still savoring summer or are you looking forward to the fall, too?

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Currently reading:

• The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

• The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

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Happy August to you! Enjoy the summer while it lasts.