The Dog Days Roll On

Whenever August rolls around, as it is wont to do each year, I am reminded why it has typically been one of my least-favorite months. No offense is meant to those of you who celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, getting to send your kids back to school, or bar mitzvahs or have any other good thing to look forward to during the month, but it's generally one of those blah times for me.

In the first place, there aren't really any holidays to look forward to. Once Independence Day and Pioneer Day are over, the next holiday of any real substance is Labor Day - and August stands right in the middle of this time period.

Secondly, I will admit freely and honestly that the summer is not exactly my favorite season of the year. I am first and foremost an autumn person, followed by spring, then the winter. And August is traditionally when the hottest of the hot weather comes along.

The only time of the year I enjoy making gravy is on Thanksgiving, if you catch my drift.

But Jon, you're probably thinking. You're handsome. Do you really prefer the cold, cold Utah winter over the summer? Also, do you enjoy having brownies delivered to your doorstep by cute girls?

The answer to both questions is: Yes, I do. I would much rather bundle up (or cuddle up - I'm not picky!) on a cold summer night than sweat like Richard Nixon did during his presidential debates with John F. Kennedy. You can always put on another sweater or turn up the thermostat a couple of degrees, but in the summer, you can shed only so many clothes. Additionally: Brownies are delicious.

For those of you who weren't aware, I served my mission in Lima, Peru, which is one of the hottest cities on Earth, given that it is just a few hundred kilometers (they use the metric system there, which partly explains why they're still in the Third World) south of the equator. How I ever survived in that climate for that long, I may never know.

Nevertheless, the summer has been pretty good to us this year along the Wasatch Front. The first couple of weeks of June were marked by unseasonably cool weather, and so far it has been one of the coolest Augusts I can remember. So, I may be warming up (no pun intended) to August after all.

I don't want to be one of those people who looks at the weather forecast each day and screams in frustration or throws up his arms in despair, because I know a few people who fit that description. In the summer, they hate the heat; in the autumn, they hate the cold; in the winter, they really hate the cold; in the spring, they hate the rain. Essentially, they choose to be unhappy at all times. When you think about it, there are things to be enjoyed in the weather and in nature every day - if you look for them.