Cool Breeze by Cheryl Harper

Finally, fall in Arkansas! Lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s mean fashion gets challenging. I saw someone walking across the parking lot to go to work last week with fuzzy boots and a sleeveless dress. I was wearing a sundress and espadrilles because it was also still literally summer on Thursday.

Maybe my clothes aren’t up to the change, but I am ready for it. That shot of cool that floats along in the mornings boosts my energy after the long, dull, drag of August and September heat. For weeks on end, highs threaten or cross 100, humidity is thick enough to wade through, and life is about moving only when necessary. That cool that makes it easy to breathe? I was desperate for it. (For all of you who are already in winter now...I got nothing. You deserve hot chocolate and warm cookies.).

I’ve been experiencing that lift in other ways, too.

This summer was a health marathon with me. So many doctor visits. After too much of the equivalent of August’s misery in medical form, now I’ve got the cool breeze of feeling better. Now and then. Not all the time, but there’s enough of that cool floating in the air that I have hope. I walked my dog again. We all know how much I love that dog. How could I not? He’s adorable. Is he a couch potato? Yes, he gets that from me, but we love walking in the park. That small thing was a big thing to me.


As far as writing goes, my “summer" has been uncertainty and a million other fears and doubts that multiply when I’m not looking. But then I got into a new story. The edits came back with plenty of positivity. And I got some advice that turned my head the right direction, facing forward with a real plan. Small puffs of crisp air that make it easier to breathe.

I hope that whatever your summer is, the thing that is weighing you down, hanging around entirely too long, that you are feeling those boosts of cool relief and renewed energy.