Just like that, my favorite month of the year is over.
Good-Bye, July! It was marvelous seeing you again.
Since we are in the middle of the Dog Days of Summer, let me share my list of top 12 months – from favorite to least favorite.
July.
I love this month.
My birthday, Independence Day, our wedding anniversary, Alliance’s Heritage Days, and lazy days at the lake.
Favorite memory: Working the hay fields as a kid and young adult.
Darkest Day: Slicing my right leg wide open on a barbed wire fence on July 19, 1972.
October.
Football, volleyball, foliage changing colors, and comfortable weather.
Darkest Day: Trick or Treating in my hometown of Valparaiso and receiving a bag full of rocks on Halloween, 1969. I should not have dressed up as Charlie Brown.
September.
Football, adequate weather for lake activities, and the subsiding of summer’s heat.
Darkest Day: Experiencing my first Nebraska football loss on the night of September 9, 1972.
June.
A ton of daylight tops the list. Plus, late spring thunderstorms (love them if they don’t include hail and strong winds), carefree days, campfires in the backyard, and the College World Series.
Darkest Day: Slicing my left arm wide open (to the bone) on a barbed wire fence and listening to my mother’s hysterical screams on June 12, 1971.
December.
I love the Advent and Christmas seasons and ALL they offer. Also, my daughter, Christa, was born shortly before Christmas, 1996.
Darkest Day: The death of a rural neighbor girl who perished in an auto accident on December 12, 1978.
November.
Football, Thanksgiving, and more football.
Darkest Day: The death of my mother on November 2, 2017.
May.
Graduations, a daily increase in sunlight, Cynthia’s birthday, and warmer weather.
Darkest Day: May 3, 1974, when we buried my grandmother. This was my first experience of losing someone extremely close to me.
August.
County fairs, the anticipation of football season, lake activities, and campfires.
Darkest Day: Any of my back-to-school experiences from kindergarten through post-secondary education. I hated – and still hate – back to school. I guess I am still a kid at heart, and really do not wish to see summer fun end.
April.
Easter, more daylight, and baseball.
Darkest Day: The death of my grandmother on April 29, 1974.
February.
Valentine’s Day (yes, I am a romantic), increasing daylight, basketball, State Wrestling Tournament, and four-wheel driving through snowdrifts (it’s a guy thing).
Darkest Day: Learning that my dad had terminal cancer on February 25, 2008.
March.
NCAA and State Basketball Tournaments, increasing daylight, and my oldest daughter, Kacey, celebrates her birthday.
Darkest Day: My dad’s death on March 13, 2008.
January.
My first grandchild, Noah, was born on January 23, 2022. College football bowl games and basketball.
Darkest Day(s): Too many to count. I hate the dark, the cold, the ice, the flesh-killing wind, and the fact that if Cynthia is not in a romantic mood, I cannot place my tongue on any type of outdoor metal.
There you have them, friends.
Enjoy August and its offerings!