My friend said something to me recently that I keep thinking about.
Why are we always rushing to the next thing?
She was talking about the shops. You know the drill. You finally get the weather for sandals and suddenly you’re surrounded by boots. You go looking for something summery in August and apparently you’ve missed your chance - it’s either gone or hanging on a sale rail in a size 6 or 18.
Meanwhile, somewhere nearby, there’s probably a Christmas decoration.
And I know this is hardly one of life’s great problems, but honestly… what is the rush?
Can we just have August?
Especially here in Scotland.
We wait FOREVER for summer.
January lasts approximately seven months. We drag ourselves through February. Spring arrives, changes its mind, comes back again, and eventually we get those lovely long evenings and the occasional day when you can actually leave the house without a jacket.
And then August arrives and suddenly everyone wants autumn.
No!
I’m not done yet.
I love autumn. I really do. The colours, the darker evenings, the change in the air - and owning a candle company means you can probably imagine that autumn is a pretty lovely season for us.
But I don't need it in the middle of August.
Can we not just enjoy where we are?
I know, I know... I own a candle company
There is, of course, a slight irony in me writing this.
Seasonality is a huge part of retail, and running a small handmade candle business means we have to think ahead. We have to make stock, plan photographs, order supplies and work out what is coming next long before you ever see it.
Behind the scenes, we're always a little further ahead than I'd ideally like to be.
And yes, we’re quietly letting the last of Spring Air and Sundown go to make some space for what's coming next.
But quietly is the important bit.
Because it isn't time yet.
I don't want to start shouting AUTUMN at you while you're still sitting in the garden with a glass of wine.
And I'm certainly not going to start mentioning the C word.
Well, apart from just then.
When did enjoying now stop being enough?
I think that's the bit that bothers me.
It isn't really about jumpers appearing in shops in July.
It's that everything seems designed to make us look ahead.
What are you doing this weekend?
Where are you going on holiday?
What's next for the business?
What are your plans for autumn?
Have you started thinking about Christmas?
And I'm as guilty of it as anyone. I love a plan. Actually, I probably need a plan to function.
Planning ahead can make life easier. It takes away stress, keeps a business running and stops you waking up three days before Christmas wondering how you're going to find 27 presents.
But there's a difference between being prepared for what's coming and constantly living in it before it gets here.
I'm beginning to think we've got a little too good at the second one.
We're forever waiting for something
When you think about it, we spend an awful lot of life waiting for the next bit.
When the kids are tiny, you wait for them to sleep through the night.
Then you can't wait until they're at school.
Then until the holidays.
Until the weekend.
Until the weather gets better.
Until work calms down.
Until you've lost a few pounds, saved a bit more money, finished the house, got through the busy period...
And then one day you realise that all those bits you were trying to get through were your actual life.
That's quite a sobering thought for a blog that started with me moaning about autumn jumpers.
But I think it's true.
Maybe August is supposed to feel a bit messy
August in Scotland isn't perfect summer.
Some days are gorgeous. Some days it rains sideways. The evenings are just beginning to change and there are little signs everywhere that another season is coming.
Maybe that's exactly why we should enjoy it.
Not because it's perfect, but because it's here now.
Buy the strawberries.
Sit outside when the sun appears.
Keep wearing the sandals even if you need a cardigan with them or even where them with socks – I do!
Light your favourite summer candle.
And maybe don't worry quite yet about making everything cosy for autumn.
It'll come soon enough.
What's the rush?
Businesses will always have to work ahead. I understand that more than most.
But I don't want JoJo Co. to become one of those businesses constantly trying to convince you that you need the next thing before you've had a chance to enjoy what you've already got.
Perhaps that's not particularly clever retailing.
But it feels more human.
So while we might be quietly preparing for what's next behind the scenes, I'm hanging onto summer for a wee bit longer.
Autumn will get its turn.
Christmas will definitely get its turn.
And whatever comes after that will arrive whether we're ready for it or not.
For now, though?
It's August.
And I think August deserves our full attention.
Jo x
