The Dog Days…

Am I the only one who finds it hard to write in summer?

I’m not really sure why it’s so. The kids are out of school, admittedly, and vacation time does break up the days and weeks. Vacation traveling is wonderful, and I love it, but tends to leave me wasted for a while.

But it’s not really those things. And it’s certainly not the lure of the garden calling me to dig my fingers into the earth and get beautiful things to grow. Not in August in North Carolina. In fact, very few activities are appealing enough to lure me out of my air-conditioned office in the month of August.

Nonetheless, it seems as if the oppressive heat and humidity somehow slip into my spirit and suck at my energy even with air conditioning running and doors closed. And when I do force myself to scratch out a few sentences, they don’t satisfy me. I’m pretty sure that everything I write in August is total crap.

Fortunately I know September is coming. Oddly, the cooler air of fall brings a sense of renewal for me. My energy returns even as the world prepares for activity to slow down, trees to go dormant and animals to hibernate.

The leaves explode in a blaze of color, new terms start at school, and I’m ready to get moving again. That includes writing. After a few weeks of producing little, I know it will start flowing again with the coming of Autumn.

Katherine Kingston