Summertime in the South is always great. There’s never any shortage of things to do, especially this close to the Gulf of Mexico, and people generally move even more slowly than normal during these hottest of months.

With all of that being said, I’m so ready for fall. I know it’s not good to live in the future or wish your life away, and I do realize that once the cold weather sets in, we’ll all be wishing for the heat index again. But, fall is my favorite time of year. You’ve got perfect weather that is neither too hot, nor too cold. School is getting started once again, which means a new start to so many fun things that we get to cover in the newspaper business. And, of course, that includes football.

I know we’re in the middle of FIFA fever, and that is a really cool thing to experience. But, I’m afraid my football fever won’t be cured until toe meets leather in August. If you read our Sports Editor Andrew Garner’s columns, you’ll know he agrees with me as he, too, is counting down the days until football season arrives (although he understands soccer a lot better than I do). Not only do I get to watch high school football from the sidelines each Friday (sometimes I can’t believe they pay me for this), but on Saturdays, college football reigns supreme in my house. And, this year, we get the start of the SEC network. My wife is dreading it already.

And, speaking of my family, this year I’ll get to enjoy all of the fall activities with them, which includes a new addition. You see, last fall we were in the process of moving to Andalusia, so I spent much of the season moving or living in a hotel. This year, I know the community better and I can show them all of the great things Andalusia has to offer during the time of year when the air begins to have a bit of nip in it.

But, as much as I’m looking forward to it, I know there’s still a lot to do and enjoy throughout the rest of the summer. But, time flies in this business. Some weeks you sit down to get ready for Tuesday’s paper, only to look up and find out it’s Friday. So I know, before long, the skies will darken a bit earlier, we’ll all put the kids to bed at a decent hour and it will be time once again for sweater weather.