In which I mourn summer before it's actually gone.

You know that crisp, clean air of fall? And the beauty of the red and gold leaves rippling like fire over the hillsides in the fresh fall breeze?

I hate it.

I actually have lots of things to look forward to in the fall. Both of my kids birthdays are coming up in the next few months and Personal Demons birthday is also thrown in there this year. And that’s all very exciting. But… I’m a summer person.

It’s like summer was designed just for me. Even though I don’t get a real “summer break,” it’s still nice not to have to be up at the crack of dawn to blast my kids out of bed with dynamite. I like those slow summer mornings when I can get up and get ready for work at my own pace without having to holler at my kids every two minutes that they’re about to miss the bus.

And, speaking of the crack of dawn, I hate it when that and sunset get closer together. It’s already getting dark so much earlier. Ack!

And, I really dislike the cold and rain. It’s hot in the summer where I live, and it never rains between May and September. So sun? We have it, and I like it.

But, what I like most about summer is this.

Those are some of the last of my summer tomatoes. I offered you guys my cherries this spring. That’s the first of my summer bounty. The tomatoes and figs are always the last. I’m in no way a master gardener. I just checked my thumbs and they’re kind of this ocher color that’s a little more brown than green. But that doesn’t stop me from planting stuff and really enjoying the part of that stuff that doesn’t die.

So, I’m already mourning summer, even though it’s not quite gone. Guess I should snap out of it and enjoy the bit of summer that’s left. Excuse me while I go to the beach. With a book. Or two.