Tired of Summer?

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The days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are dropping. What is for others a reason to grieve is comforting for my soul. Autumn is a long-awaited boost for my spirit. I know that sounds terrible, doesn’t it?

This will not be an ode to pumpkins, red and yellow leaves, tea, and ‘Emily in Paris’. Although I love all these things! But my reason why I can’t wait for autumn every year is different.

I know I’m making myself very unpopular with many people when I say that, but I’m glad that summer is over. That doesn’t mean I despise all sunny days and can’t enjoy anything in the warm season. It’s not so much about the heat either – at least not only.

Summer is the time of the extroverts

Summer with everything that comes with it triggers stress in me. Everyone wants to do something all the time. There are birthday parties, cookouts, and BBQs every weekend, and it seems social media, including WordPress, are overflowing with posts from people who are having the time of their lives. Summer is just loud, hot, and exhausting and people look at you funny if you just want to sit on the couch and read, or if you want to watch a TV series on a sunny weekend.

In short, summer is the time for all the outgoing people who can’t get enough of the outgoing. They blossom when they can be constantly on the move, new people and experiences are waiting for them on every street corner and they practically only see their homes for sleeping.

“Look, we went to the beach (again).” Well, I am happy for you, but I don’t want to go to the beach when it’s so hot and crowded.

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I have nice childhood memories of summer, and in neither of these do I see myself sweating. Perhaps summers were different back then, or children don’t mind the heat. Do children sweat?

The perfect summer day in my mind would be temperatures in the 80s during the day, with a very light, gentle breeze to cool you down. With nothing to do, there is lots of time, maybe for swimming in the lake, sunbathing, spending time with friends, sitting outside until the evening, completely forgetting about time.

That would all be nice if it were really like that. But this is usually only the case for a few days a year, and in reality, it is different.

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Unbearable 90-100F you can hardly leave the house, and as soon as you get out of the shower your whole body is sticky with sweat. When you go outside you get attacked by mosquitoes and flies bombard your food and drinks any chance they get. The same people who were moaning in early summer that it was “far too cold” and “this year’s summer will definitely not be really warm” are now lamenting that it is far too hot (what do you want, now you finally have your summer!), the sun is far too bright and constantly blinding.

I’m happy for every person who is happy and can do the things they enjoy. At the same time, there is such strong social pressure that it is hardly possible for more introverted people like me to take enough space to retreat and recharge their social batteries in the warm season -at least without having a guilty conscience.

Some people simply need time alone, without external stimulation. I am one of them.

I know that I am not the only one who feels like this. (Please, tell me I am not alone.) I can’t be the only one who may be looking forward to a two-week beach holiday, but otherwise, longs for the silence and the opportunity to retreat which autumn offers as a replacement for summer. The extroverted fans of the long, warm days are simply louder (often too loud) than the introverted lovers of the quiet, cozy time in fall.

I like walking and hiking in autumn. I love the cooler temperatures in the morning and in the evenings. I love it when I don’t have to water the outdoor plants (and there are many) twice a day and I believe our A/C needs a break as well.

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In autumn I can finally breathe a sigh of relief

Many people suffer from winter depression, the short days and the little sunlight cause them problems and ensure that their psyche suffers in autumn and winter. But there is also the opposite, summer depression. People who, like me, feel pressured by the long days, the endless possibilities, and the many social obligations.

Every year I dread the fact that it’s light until 10:30 pm for weeks (I like to go to bed early, sorry because I get up with the chickens). Our neighbors have parties in their yard almost every weekend until late at night, and some morons further away can’t get enough of the 4th of July fireworks and they have decided to have it going on for months. I know there is a solution to these problems (blackout blinds, earplugs, saying no) but that doesn’t change the fact that summertime puts me under pressure and I long for the peace and slowdown of the colder months.

The introverted part of my soul jumps in the air every year when the calendar gets close to September 1st. 

Even if it’s still a few weeks too warm for my taste, and the extroverted party people are clinging to the last chances to really get everything out of the summer, I can at least breathe a little deeper, make myself a tea and smile with the comforting knowledge that it’s almost autumn again.

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