Morning After a Heatwave, Summer Comes to a Close

I have not been writing. Noticed this, have you?
That’s the end of summer for you. Seizing the day, carpe diem Vancouver-style.
We’re probably losing about 4 minutes of daylight a day right now. That’s more than 25 minutes a week. On June 21, it was light from about 4am to 10pm. Now? 6:30 to 7:30. December? 8:15 to 4.
There’s almost a panic to enjoy as much daylight as we can in Vancouver. It’s 8:45am, I have my desk lamp on because I actually need it. Cloudy days are dark in Vancouver, I’m expecting many of these in months to come.
Soon comes the dread and doldrums of autumn — within a month. Today, I’m in slippers, and my legs feel cold. If it sounds like the season officially changed last night… it did.
Soon, sweaters, slippers, soup, and battened down hatches as storm season rolls in off the Pacific. Cue the howling winds and repressive rain, along with never-good-enough outerwear. It’s best to lower one’s expectations for the dark days of the winter months in this town.
But with that comes the routine of basic survival, and the built-in excuses for being anti-social. What, leave my house when there’s puddles everywhere, relentless rain, a steady wind, and it’s barely double-digit temperatures, let alone near-freezing? Hah! I have SLIPPERS and wine, fucker. Good luck with that.
And with that also comes the opportunity to read more, write more, and sleep more. It’s when routine gets you through the day. Get up, work out, drink coffee, write, go to work, get it done, go home, eat hearty food, rest, rinse, and repeat.
So, that’s coming, and I know this. Half of me is ready, half of me is kicking and screaming against it.
My back, however, is a main part of me really anxious for fall and winter to come. I’ve been forgoing rehab workouts for cycling and the outdoors, but I can’t do that for much longer. But I have a plan, Stan! Yes, yes, I do.
And part of it will include many, many walks in these leaf-strewn streets. Taking a deep breath is fantastic this morning — always is, after a heatwave breaks, but when it breaks in September and that lush musty sweet autumn air follows, well, that’s just heaven.
Hello/goodbye, summer/fall — it’s practically a Beatles song, this time of season.