September

A cool breeze creeps along the carpet because we have the front door and the all the windows open. The time is 8:00am, and I am determined to take advantage of an overnight low of 73. There is a deep smell of distant wheat fields and dried grass mixed with cooling asphalt. The wind has kicked up and whisked away the sultry, humid air. I contemplate wearing a jacket. I can hear the radio playing across the street. Someone is listening to the book of Matthew. A little further down a lawn mower starts. The neighborhood is awakening from its summer induced hibernation. My neighbor next door steps out onto her porch and begins to clean her grill.

The girls finally begin to stir. I make them waffles as they listen to the sounds of a Saturday morning. Without being told, they get dressed, brush their teeth, eat their breakfast, and before I can clear the dishes they head outside to play in the backyard. I hear a faint humming from their bedroom, and realize that I forgot to turn off their air conditioner. It was set to 82. But this is a cool morning. As I switch it off, I calculate that I won't have to turn the air conditioners on until after lunch, maybe even later.