OK, let’s get the “Oh, it’s just August” jokes out of the way. Do you think I chose this month to be named after me? That was done eons ago. I was named after a famous Roman, you know.
Still, I’m here and I’m hot, so deal with it. Come January, wait and see, you will miss me.
I suppose you can call me Aug. I am a friendly guy once you get to know me. I just got a bad rap. So, I am not your favorite month. That hurts my feelings.
I know I am usually the hottest month of the year. I know folks don’t like me because I am sort of at the end of summer, don’t listen to September, and her bragging about how Labor Day is the official end.
No, September is the start of fall. Don’t believe me? Look at the year. December, January and February are winter. Then March, April and May are spring. June, July, and me, August, are summer. Point made.
Then there is the fact that I was gypped. Yes, gypped. Look at the rest of my family; January is New Year’s with all the parties and New Year’s resolutions. In February you honor two presidents and get to celebrate love with Valentine’s Day.
March is the wearing of the green and Saint Patrick’s Day, and April brings Easter with a Resurrection! Mothers love May thanks to Mother’s Day, and then it has Memorial Day to boot.
Ah, June is great for dads with Father’s Day, graduations, high on weddings, and then there is Flag Day. July gets fireworks and parades celebrating the birthday of your country. And in October, all the kiddies love Halloween, and families love Thanksgiving in November, Santa Claus even comes to town in a parade.
December is everyone’s favorite holiday with Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. But what do I get? Squat, that’s what, so I am creating my own holiday for all of you.
I give you, “AUGSS Day.’ The Aug is, of course, in honor of me with SS meaning Summer Serenade. This one has it all. I suggest that on the third Saturday of August, you host a party by inviting all your family and friends with invitations written on paper plates.
Ask everyone to bring their favorite summer food, as well as their favorite summer story to share. If they have pictures of themselves as children, encourage them to bring them along, and you should look for a few yourself. Tell everyone to write their name on the back of the picture.
Get a couple of poster boards and tape the pictures on them numbered. Then everyone writes down their guesses of who the children are.
Get a couple of prizes to give out because everyone loves prizes. Get a bunch of cheap water guns and have everyone get to be a kid again, sending cool water off with the hope of hitting a moving target. In the background, have a collection of summer songs playing, like Summer Nights from Grease, Summer in the City by the Lovin’ Spoonful, Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams, and Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts.
For the finale bring out a watermelon with lit candles stuck in it and cupcakes on the side while everyone sings, “Should all Augusts be forgot, and seldom come to mind, let’s all toast August and the days of summertime.”
Now, doesn’t that sound like fun? You can thank old Aug, of August, for that.
Back to ideas for when it is too hot to go outside, that I call the “In reach and the outreach.”
Get your address book, some plain paper, envelopes and stamps together. You may want to be near a computer to look up addresses if needed. Now, please put on a nostalgic song and close your eyes, and let yourself travel through your past to think of people that you are grateful for, who helped make your life richer.
Jot the names down, seek out addresses, and pause again. You may be saying, well, I have no idea of where they are, or worse, they have died. Write the letter anyway and offer your words up. The important thing is the action of gratitude.
Or, using the same principle, but with your phone, create a chain of gratitude. You start by calling two people who have given so much value to your life by their existence.
Does not have to be a long call, just specific in its reason. Then, at the end of the call, ask the person to call two people they are grateful for and tell them to tell the people to call two people, and so it will grow, and who knows where it will end.
Just imagine the abundance of joy that your call will inspire. Now, if that does not make August special, I don’t know what else will.
Next, buy four composition notebooks. They can be found very cheaply.
One notebook is titled INVENTORY. Yup, just an hour at a time, go over your home and make a complete inventory of your home. Then put it in a safe place like a fire safety box in case of insurance claims, to have a better idea of what you own and its worth, as well as make any notations of whom you want to have particular people to inherit.
Next notebook title Holiday Plans, which is going to make you feel cooler just writing it, plus you already feel ahead of the game.
Now, when you think of a clever gift for someone, write it down under their name. Find a recipe in a magazine you want to try for the hectic months? Cut it out and clip it to the book. Have this be your go-to guide for a less hectic holiday.
In reach comes the next two notebooks.
The first is a journal; if you think you only have to do it for a few months, it is easier to begin. Put down your highs and lows of each day, things you do, people you miss, hey, what your cat or dog did that made you laugh.
What you jot down does not matter as much as giving every day the value it deserves. In years to come, these notebooks will become precious and can also help you win so many bets by having proof, say, “No, we were not visiting relatives that day, you were fishing. Says so right here.”
The last notebook is Volume One of a very important series, “My Life as Seen in Scenes.” This book does not have to be written in order, although you can think of childhood, teen years, adulthood, parenthood, etc., if it helps organize your thoughts. This project works two ways. It gives you an appreciation of your life and offers a flood of memories, as well as a future present to yourself when you might need perspective.
My last suggestion for indoor stay-cool activities for August is BE A KID DAY.
What were your favorite foods when you were a kid, what movies, songs, games? Did you like to stay in your PJS all day? This is the one day that it is encouraged to do just that!
If you feel silly, grab a grandchild, a neighbor’s kid, whoever you want to hang out and play with. What better way to end your now favorite month?
