July Musings

Contrary to T.S. Eliot's opinion that April is the cruelest month, I believe that this (dis)honor belongs exclusively to July. As long as I can remember, July has been, hands down, my favorite month. Besides the obviously glorious days at the beach and late sunset evenings, July also happens to be my birthday month. When you add the festivities of the Fourth of July, really, what other month stands a chance? (Sorry, no, not even December in my book.) So what's my gripe? Well, besides July's many benefits, it is also the most predictable. Within hours of the last of the Fourth's fireworks, you can almost feel the month slipping away uncontrollably. Is July not also the fastest month of the year? The fact that both March and July share the same thirty-one days is really hard to fathom. March seeems easily twice as long, does it not? Whereas we cannot wait until the end of March, we face the end of July with absolute dread. Perhaps this is because we all know exactly what comes next. With its' incessant back-to-school ads and increasingly cool evenings, the month of August lets us down every time. Halfway through it, we give up on summer entirely. In alarmingly short order, beach towels, pool toys and bathing suits are packed away for the winter. (Winter! Did I really say winter?)) People start muttering about bringing on September already and purchasing crisp new school supplies. Ughhhh... not yet, please, at least not for me.

What does all this have to do with knitting? Well, I suppose I could make a case about cooler weather, heavier wardrobes and the new fall yarns-all good things for a knitting shop of course. But really today I just feel like mourning the end of yet another all-too-quick July, my favorite month of the year.