Announcer: We interrupt this bloggy hiatus to bring you a special report from the surface of the sun. Our correspondent, Tara, is braving the elements to bring us the latest.

Tara?

Me: Well, I don’t know who you are, and I’m not actually on the surface of the sun, but it sure does feel like it. Happy to provide an update, though.

Me, bursting through to say hi!

As you know, I’m a Never Summer-er who believes this season is meant for hibernating indoors, spending most of one’s time sitting on air conditioner vents. I can report, though, that there has been more indoor traffic the past few days with the ongoing heatwave and temps yesterday and today near 100F with “real feel” temps of 115F. Of course, as an introvert, I’m not one to let many people in my personal space on a good (read: cool) day, but especially not in these conditions, so I in fact have the air conditioner vent I prefer all to myself. I also haven’t been outside since about noon yesterday. I’m sitting inside in a sweatshirt because the abode must be kept super cold in case of unexpected power outage. It’s glorious.

Thankfully, it’s midsummer, at least meteorlogically speaking. Sure, we still have the rest of July and all of August, but the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen and the temperature of said light will decrease as we get closer and closer to Autumn.

I’m happy to report that the signs of us being on the downside of this slippery summer season are here: the sun is mercifully setting earlier and earlier each day; Back to School items line shelves and ads are increasing on TV and the internets; football players are reporting for training camp next week (I’m not a football fan — they’re just the red robins of spring-like harbingers of summer’s quickly approaching end); and the cicadas sing their song of summer’s demise nightly (with no cover!).

As for me, in addition to sitting on the a/c, I can report that I’ve been enjoying my more than a month of electronic silence. I’ve mostly stayed off social media, only popping into Twitter for about 5 minutes on about three days, and I’ve stayed totally off WordPress. I’ve mostly checked email only two days a week. I’ve watched mostly educational YouTube videos (seriously, not kidding there — mostly psychology, always an interest of mine). I haven’t taken one photo, posted one status update, shared one thing I’ve found / seen / heard impulsively, or anything of the 21st century sort (my food protesteth: “I’m pretty! Why aren’t you photographing me?”). It’s been amazingly easy, but then again, I’ve been weaning myself off said things since completely quitting that awful “friend” site more than 5 years ago. (I’m not sure I’d ever quit the ones I still do completely, but that’s a longer post for my return in the Fall.)

So what have I done?

I’ve spent time in rooms with other humans, conversing and connecting. I’ve tried new things. I’ve met new people. I’ve lost people (to greener pastures and one to whatever’s beyond this life). I’ve found my people-reading skills are sharper than ever, meaning they can disappoint me but not surprise me in doing so. In some cases, though, they’ve elated me in ways I never would have expected — a surprise I don’t see coming all the time but that is most welcome. I’ve heard new tunes and sang old favorites, almost constantly. I’ve played new tunes (guitar!, piano, and more). I’ve read amazing turns of phrase (books, magazines, and more). I’ve written a couple myself (and struggled a lot, and I’m still investigating Why: The Struggle). I’ve pondered. As an introvert/INFJ, pondering is a skill I should list on my resume, I do it so much and often well (sometimes not — see: mind spinning).

But this past week+, mostly I’ve tried my best not to melt. These are generally speaking the worst two weeks of the year, but we’re halfway through them and also through summer. It’s like I’m on my new bike and I’ve just about reached the summit of a long, sweat-inducing uphill climb and the glory of speeding downhill without having to pedal, the wind blowing in my face, awaits. So does more of what I’ve been doing for fun, which will increase as summer fades and people get back to doing more, week to week.

I don’t want to keep using computer energy that may drag any way from what’s keeping the air conditioner humming — priorities, people — so it’s time to end this summer bloggy burst / update. This concludes this hibernation interruption from a location that feels like the surface of the sun. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Below: an artist’s rendering of me, circa now.