New Year or Endless Summer?

The beginning of school usually feels like a new year for me: new students, new beginnings, and new classes. Not this year, however; it feels like endless summer!

I associate the beginning of school with fall, but since school started Aug. 31 temperatures have remained in the 80s. My classrooms vary from warm to hot, and that's with air conditioning.

I know I'm in a vast minority, but I hate summer. I love sunshine but hate everything else about summer: heat, humidity, mold, and pollen. I hate the effects of humidity: your clothes stick to you, you sweat while sitting still in the shade, and towels and sheets feel clammy. Thank God I have air conditioning!

It's not bad enough that the heat and humidity make it uncomfortable to be outside, they contribute to the mold and pollen levels. If you haven't already guessed, I'm allergic to mold and ragweed, so for me summer is just a long stretch of ever-increasing allergens. August and September are the worst because mold and ragweed are at their peak. Even prescription allergy medicine and air conditioning (which acts like a big allergen filter) don't completely alleviate the symptoms. Allergy sufferers won't get real relief until the first killing frost, usually the first week of October in this part of Michigan.

After that, fall is heaven: cool temps, sunny days, crisp nights, beautiful leaf colors, vivid blues skies, apple cider, pumpkins, college football, and the wonderful sound and smell of walking through fallen leaves... Come on, frost!