[melting face emoji] 15/42

Tell me you're not okay without telling me you're not okay.

It has been a rough summer so far, even beyond the massive heat wave. My mom had a significant injury, and I've been dealing with worse-than-usual stress from my volunteer work. It has been too hot to go outside most of the time, so those soothing walks I take to calm down have been impossible.

I'm a hot mess right now -- literally and figuratively.

The heat is really getting to me. I don't mean it has been uncomfortable outside; it has been dangerously hot, with "real feel" temperatures regularly over 110F. Hot weather exacerbates one of my medical conditions, so I often struggle a little during the summer, even under normal conditions.

Beyond the personal stressors, the new twist is that we've struggled to keep our flat comfortably cool during the day.

We've been in our new place since last August. We moved in during the hottest part of the year, so we thought we knew what to expect regarding the air conditioning here. But last summer had close to "normal" temperatures; it was nothing like the endless heatwave we've been experiencing this year. Add high vaulted ceilings and an ancient A/C unit that could fail at any moment on top of these merciless high temperatures, and you've got a pretty miserable and unproductive Sarah.

Long story short: I'm taking the rest of the summer off from this newsletter.

"Wait a second," you might be thinking. "Is Sarah seriously blowing this off because she's [checks notes] too hot?" Yes, sort of? But also no. I'm finally making some progress on my novel revision, which is my primary writing project, but it's more time intensive than I anticipated. (Maybe I was super naive about the time commitment, but some things can only be learned through experience.) Something has to give. It's not going to be my paid work, and it’s not going to be my novel, so… I guess this is it.

Bombastic Frippery will return in the fall to start celebrating Spooky Season early, as usual. I've already got some absolute bangers planned and an extra-special spine-chilling treat lined up for Halloween. Let's face it, summer is my season to whine, and autumn is my season to shine. Why fight it?

See you folks in September! Stay cool -- both literally and figuratively.