Arduous August

August marks the last leg of summer. Notorious for being long, hot and uncomfortable. The month that must be endured between the “fun summer” of July and the “almost fall” of September.

August lived up to its stereotype in our house this year. August was long. August was hard. (and we live in Georgia, so of course it was hot as hell.)

Mike and I are both working long hours right now, and we both have horrible commutes. Most week days in August we worked all day, and logged back on for another hour or two after the kids went to bed. School was back in session, which means our afternoon commutes pushed an hour most days.

We were exhausted and balance was non-existent. We pushed through as best we could, tried to keep the kids on a normal routine and ate way more frozen pizza and chicken nuggets than normal.

We made it. Georgia State plays its first game in the new Georgia State Stadium tonight. My boss has approval for two new (and desperately needed) hires – one to help her and one to help me.

Despite going into Mike’s busy season, we’re hopeful things will ease up just a little bit. At this point, we’ll take anything, even if it’s “just a little bit.”

August has been hard in other ways, too. Dear friends of ours lost their preemie baby boy at 8 days old. We are heartbroken for them, and as a mom of little ones, it rocked me to my core.

We aren’t meant to understand the “why” of something so devastating. It’s a mystery of faith. At his funeral, the minister shared a beautiful message of love and hope, especially poignant given current events. Why, the minister asked, was the church filled with so many people mourning the loss of someone almost no one in the room had met? There were not memories to share, stories to swap or a lifetime of moments to reflect upon. We were there because of love. Because we loved his parents. Because we loved him. Because in only 8 days of living, that baby made a difference in the lives of everyone who knew about him. Love never fails.

August ended on a tough note in another way, too. Another person I love is going through a very, very difficult time. It is not my story to share.

Yes, August was tough. But like the beautiful sunrise at the beginning of this post, we have hope that brighter days are ahead. Life wouldn’t be life as we know it without a few unpredictable storms.