August can’t seem to find a respectable niche in the year’s calendar of months. January holds the high title as the first month of the New Year. February romances our hearts, and March is the welcomed beginning of spring and windy kite days.

April showers plus 13-13-13 bring May flowers; June is wedding month, and July is a red, white, and blue patriotic celebration for the U.S. September welcomes fall, football and hayrides.

October is overrun with ghosts and goblins followed by Thanksgiving feasts in November. December ends the year with birthday celebrations for Jesus and presents for everyone else.

Then there’s August. No one ever talks about the anticipation of the wonderful weather of August. It’s forever labeled hottest month with humidity that suffocates.

Children dislike it because it rings the school bells, ending the summer vacations. Patio plants wave a white flag and surrender to the heat during August, and the grass totally engulfs the vegetable gardens. The August temps demand the A/C runs continually, and cute summer clothes are replaced with the lightest, sleeveless, can’t-touch-my-body attire in the closet.

Food is reduced to whatever doesn’t have to be cooked or served warm. A few watermelons attempt to add significance to the month, but most left town for July celebrations. August just can’t get a break.

It’s really a pity. August didn’t ask for these conditions. However, one plus for August is birthday celebrations for family members and dear friends.

Therefore, I think we should declare August birthdays as two, maybe three-day celebrations. Let’s also add double portions of ice cream to all the birthday parties to neutralize some of the August heat.

Being a good neighbor is another suggestion for the solution to the month’s inferior reputation. Everyone in the South deals with August’s oppressive temps, so there are a lot of people that could use a cold drink of water.

A visit to someone who’s lonely can feel like a refreshing oasis to that person. A note of appreciation to a teacher or public worker that’s taken for granted can lift a spirit and have restorative results.

Imagine the ministers who are on call 24/7 and have constant requests for prayers and visits, who continually deal with problems in the “fold,” and carry burdens for their members. How thirsty they must be for fortifying words from their sheep.

That’s it. I now label August with an enviable title: The Month of Refreshing. With the help of others longing to refresh, we can lift August out of the cellar. Proverbs 11:25 makes it a guaranteed win for all participants: “Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

Letters to Camille Anding can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602, or e-mailed to camille@datalane.net.