7:20pm. The sky outside is the color of hydrangeas, the powdery blue ones that bleed towards violet around the edges. I’m always surprised at what time the sun sets around Labor Day. I know that it clocks earlier in increments as soon as the solstice hits, but when August passes into September, I’m forced to acknowledge it and the change always feels sudden.
8:00pm. The sky is already pitch black. I am not ready.
Currently in New York, we are at the tail end of a heatwave, the same one that blanketed the west a few weeks ago. Kids are back at school and the apartment is quiet again, but this heat is at odds with what makes sense in our storybook versions of Back to School season. The start of September can often be deceiving—it is still technically summer after all, but after what was a spectacular August of low humidity and delightful weather days, the return of heavy humid air is oppressive for the first day of school.