Phew! August is over
August has never been my favourite month. Besides the usual signal of the end of summer, it has always been the month that I seem to be rushing from one job to another and never getting ahead of any of them. Everything piles up no matter how hard I work.
When I was a board member of the St. Lawrence Valley Agricultural Society and did the paperwork for all three breed shows at the Williamstown Fair, I knew August would start off stressfully.
With three show catalogues to put together and print, no matter when the closing date for entries, there were always a dozen or more who wanted entries deleted and additions added two or three days before the show, regardless of the fact that the show lists were already printed and numbers assigned.
Trying to keep the atmosphere friendly I would comply but the anger manifested when I could/would not slot their new entry/entries into the appropriate age slot was amazing. No, I am not going to re-number everyone else. The new animal will go at the end of the class with a non-consecutive number. Sorry.
On the day of the show, if looks could kill I would have been dead a dozen times over. It was always a huge relief when the show was over.
When all four kids were at home, August was also time to start getting ready to go back to school. The many supplies would be bought over the summer as they came on sale but there was always an enormous list of supplies for each, not to mention new clothes and shoes.
One thing I was always grateful to our kids for was that they insisted in using their Grade 8 book bags through all of high school! I don’t remember who started it or why but it took quite a strain off the wallet. By the time they graduated, these book bags looked somewhat the worse for wear, had all sorts of phrases and names written all over them and were full of memories. They all made it to the end.
As the kids grew older, driver’s education was added to the expense list. Then, once each passed that, the insurance premiums went up too. Our daughter, the youngest, took great delight in rubbing it into her brothers that her insurance went down long before theirs did!
Also in August, driver’s license renewals and new stickers for the vehicles. Groan!! Long ago we switched all the vehicles into my name so we got a six month reprieve until they were due. Where there is a will there is a way!
The end of the month brings us to our birthday week: seven birthdays in one week! One on the 22nd, three on the 25th, two on the 28th — but six years apart — and one on the 29th. Six years ago two birthdays were added to the 25th when twin granddaughters were also born on their Dad’s birthday, also on the 25th. Yes, seven in one week! Lots of cakes and cards!
The month of August is also the time when the garden is in full production so in between other chores such as cutting our enormous lawn, trimming, weeding, cooking and every other household chore, canning and freezing are added to the list. Freezing is straight forward but jams, jellies, preserves, pickles and relishes are not. Concentration is required to follow recipes and avoid failure.
For the past 20 or so years there have been editors in my life too. One has a Monday deadline for my weekly submission and, more recently, the other emails have a monthly deadline. I squeeze them in too this month but I must admit that, for the latter, I am usually late.
Now, the final two days of August are upon me and September is just around the corner. Another eleven months until I face August again.
Angela Dorie is an agricultural writer and a Jersey farmer near Cornwall.
