It’s been a hot summer. We don’t have air conditioning, and the temperature inside our house rose above 90 degrees many times. The humidity made it uncomfortable at times, but I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed a summer that felt like summer. I haven’t worn a pair of jeans in months. I’ve worn the same outfit every day, a thin t-shirt and a pair of worn-out denim shorts. I’ve gone swimming in lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks. Summer heat has the effect of slowing time down, so that this summer has felt like the summers of my childhood.
But this weekend at camp, the weather suddenly changed. A cool wind came across the river. I find myself digging out the red fleece that’s been buried in my duffle bag all summer. My mother and I went out canoeing, and we noticed that the lily pads were dry and withered, many of them brown. The light had changed: darkness came earlier. Acorns were already beginning to fall from the oak trees. It’s as if someone turned a switch and said, “Let it be fall.”
