The Hottest Day Of The Year

Just when I was getting used to the idea that September would bring cooler days and before long, I’d be singing the praises of October again, Mother Nature changed her mind, as women are prone to do, and brought back summer with a vengeance! It was 97° yesterday – the hottest day of this year – and the weather report predicts more of the same today. I can only hope that this is summer’s “Last Hurrah!”

My granddaughter was visiting last evening and saying how much she wanted to move to Florida where it’s warm all the time. She has two small children. I told her I thought it would be unfair to take them away from the changing seasons, the mountains and other things that make our part of the country unique.

But she stood her ground. “There’s nothing to do here,” she said. “In Florida, when the kids say, ‘what’re we gonna do today?’ I’ll grab a few things and off we’ll go to the beach.”

“That’s just like eating ice cream every day,” I told her. “Before long, it’ll be ‘old hat’ and not a treat anymore.” To be truly happy, one has to have something to look forward to; we have to live with the expectation that something good is on the way. That’s the way children live. Why can’t we? 

She thinks she won the argument because she finished by reminding me how much I complain about the “grey days” in January and February, and I had to admit that’s true. But there’s nothing she or anyone else can say to change my mind. To know me is to know how each season delights my senses!

Spring with the sudden appearance of a warm, yellow sun, welcome after a long, cold winter; showers that assist the sun in the gentle awakening of sleeping violets, crocus and daffodils.

Summer with its sometimes unbearable heat and humidity; lightning and thunderstorms that both frighten and amaze us; evenings filled with giggles of children as they play a variety of games or catch lightening bugs.

My beloved autumn who flaunts her azure sky, brilliantly colored

foliage, shorter days, and a quietness that promises a more restful time ahead.

Winter with its cold gray days, long nights, unexpected snowfalls that delight children of all ages, and joyous holidays that bring families together in loving celebration.

So, dear granddaughter, you go ahead and pack up and head for greener pastures – or in this case, more stable year ‘round temperatures, if you must. I think I’ll just stay right here where I was born and enjoy my lovely seasons until the day I die. I’ve visited many of our United States, as well as other countries, but no matter where I go or how much I enjoy being there, I’m always pulled back to where I belong.

My thermometer reads 97º right now and I really hate it! But I’m living with the expectation of a cooler tomorrow.

And a dazzling October!