Celebrating Summer

It's getting hot again. We had some hard-core heat in the middle of July. Then, it cooled off to 89 degrees. Now, we are heading into the dog days of August, and the heat is on.

Kate can't sleep. I'm starting to wonder if my head's getting cooked. Our great dane used to run through the backyard at a million miles an hour, but now, she walks slowly toward the fence and stands underneath a bush for ten minutes. Even at night.

The cats have picked their places. I left the house over three hours ago, and yet, I know exactly where each cat is right now. The grey one is up on top of the dresser, having knocked off my travel bag and Arkansas quarter collection. The black sleek one has taken residence on the coffee table, enjoying its cool and smooth surface. And the big orange one is huddled next to the A/C vent in the bathroom. He was meowing and complaining last week when I picked him up off of the organ and placed him on the ceramic tile floor. He's been there ever since.

It's been one of those months where I think to myself, "If Kate should ever find a job that requires relocation to Washington state, I don't think that I'll mind that much." She asks me what life is like in Minnesota and my response is always "You - can't - even - imagine - how cold that freakin' state gets." However, since Aspen, anywhere Out West doesn't seem so bad.

Three months from now, it'll be my birthday, and it's never hot on my birthday. Three months ago, we were celebrating Kate's birthday, and that doesn't seem so long ago at all. For now, it's August. I still go outside wearing pants and long sleeves. I try to remember the feeling for winter when, for some strange reason, I might even miss this heat.