What Has Happened To August

It used to be a truism that the month of August felt long, hot, and dull. Then Labor Day would come and after that we would go back to school. This was a good thing as our K-12 schools, even my college dorm, were not air conditioned.

Now I see posts on FaceBook of my friends taking their kids to college. The fact that they are taking them to school is not indicative of anything or surprising, but the fact it is the middle of August suggests something has changed in our way of life.

I realize school being in recess in the summer months is a remnant of our agrarian economy and that children at one time had to work to bring in the crops. Then we grew into an industrial economy and children were eventually outlawed from working in factories so the summer months were free for them to grow up and discover things on their own. August in particular was a time for family vacations and if you weren't on vacation or had already been, the month of August could seem quiet in the neighborhood. You had to look around hard for things to do and leave your comfort zone, maybe talk and play with kids you usually wouldn't associate with.

As I like to tell my nephews when I make these sort of observations, my childhood was not better or worse than what they are going through. It is only different, and change is something we all have to accept and deal with.

This August I have already taking my vacation at the Jersey Shore so I am looking around hard for things to do, just as I sometimes had to do as a kid. Thank goodness for air conditioning and that I can read about the changes going on in our society on the Internet. Otherwise, I would be outside trying to experience things for myself. This wouldn't be a bad thing, only different for what currently passes as living and growing up.