Back to It

The beginning of August is hot, humid, and hectic in Atlanta. As I write this, I realize most of my friends with littles or that are teachers have started back to school already. Even though it is officially still very much summer, it mentally feels like we've hit the fall.

Taylor Swift's song "August" marks the first day of the month, where fans claim the official start of "salt air, and the rust on your door" from the lyrics. While the song is part of a brilliant trifecta of songs of one story from three different perspectives (see also "Betty" and "Cardigan"), it always reminds me of one thing. Released in 2020, the album Folklore became our summer soundtrack before my daughter Bailey moved away to college. As a high school senior - then a college freshman - during Covid, there was a lot of loss and a lot of weirdness around these special celebrations. Moving my daughter over 1400 miles away to attend CU Boulder was bittersweet - for all the reasons you'd expect in a normal year, as well as all the additional anxieties that August 2020 had brought to our doorstep.

It is hard to describe fully my feelings of those weeks. Driving through Passion City's parking lot first thing in the morning of a carefully plotted timeline to have her Covid test administered through our car window to see if she could move in... Flying for the first time in months with masks and enough bags to move to another state... Facing a surprisingly hot and sticky move in with no AC and doors required to be closed... By the time I drove away from my "baby," I was so dehydrated and overwhelmed I couldn't even cry. I just had to hug her tight and try to be brave.

All this time, "August" was part of our soundtrack.

How can it be that FIVE years have passed?

Whatever your August is bringing to you these days - joy, relief, anxiety, the call to courage - let me share a word of encouragement. This too shall pass. One day you will look back at this season, this month, this day, and it will be a memory. In five years, you may look back with awe at how you got through it. You might look back and miss it. A lot can change, and a lot can change quickly.

In recent weeks I have lost two friends my own age - WAY too early - WAY too suddenly. This August looks incredibly different for their families than what they had planned. Take a moment today, right now as you read this, to take a big deep breath. Inhale, exhale. If you feel so inclined, offer a little prayer - for what August is, is not, and might be. Center yourself with a mantra, guiding principle, verse, poem, word, or quote. Let the best of you guide you forward into this next season, reminding you that you can choose how you spend your August days.