Dog Days

I might not be able to declare it to be Fall just yet (by law, it cannot arrive prior to Labor Day), but nothing can stop me from dubbing the next seven days Fall Prep Week.  Yankee Candles will be scouted (new scents, you know), and hopefully purchased.  The Playlist will be updated and freshly curated.  A new Blu-ray upgrade of the fireplace arrived Friday.  New menus of soups, stews, and chillies will be researched and planned.  One change involves the Fall's signature beverage. As I was saying over the weekend, while I still intend to celebrate the arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, I can't be held hostage by their schedule anymore.  When it's time to go, it's time to go.

This year, Fall could not come at a better time.  I gotta say, August has been weird.  As my beloved Angels have gone into the proverbial toilet in August, I too have been mired in some sort of doldrums.  I can't really pinpoint it as being due to one single thing or even a combination of any two or three, I've just been down lately.  Let me tell you, there is nothing like a hangover to make you take a long look at yourself and not like a lot of what you see.  These last, clinging days of summer have been dog days indeed.

Still, I sent the summer season out in style over the weekend, visiting the Andersons in Arizona.  We took their boat on the lake (our first time) and soaked in one last blast of sun and heat, hopefully absorbing enough for a lasting glow.  Andy cued up the ipod with the Miami Vice Theme and punched the throttle.  As we skipped across the surface of the water, I swear, for just a few fleeting moments, I felt like Don Johnson.  I needed that.  Also, I went tubing.  I'm a tuber.  I tube.  Dragged behind the boat at 30 mph, literally gripping on for dear life, I screamed and hollered like I was freefalling with reckless abandon.  It felt really, really good.  It would never occur to me so be so direct in my treatment of the blues.  Normally, I would ride it out over time, using music, comfort food, and movies to keep me afloat as I eventually drifted back to shore.  As it turns out, an adrenaline-riddled ride on an innertube is much more efficient.

While I am still feeling more down than up, I can see that the harsh light is fading and the crisp sentimentality of fall is rolling in on the horizon like the marine layer that has returned to envelope my neighborhood in the evenings.

And if all else fails, as of Saturday, we've got football.  Happy Fall Prep Week everyone.