And Somehow, Just Like That.. It’s September!
Updated: Sep 4
Well.. Bank Holiday weekend certainly delivered!
A rain-affected triple header, a 30-mile ultramarathon.. and somehow, just like that, it’s September!
Where Did Summer Go?
I actually started writing this before the weekend because August Bank Holiday is always when it hits me.
Summer is nearly over and I can’t help but feel like I haven’t even done anything.
Which is a complete lie, because I have actually done loads. Cricket has given me so many opportunities to travel around the UK, do cool things and meet new people that I would never have dreamed of.
I mean, I spent Bank Holiday Sunday running 30 miles between ten cricket clubs with my sister. That isn’t exactly nothing.
But, and I feel very ungrateful saying this, I haven’t done many normal “summer” things.
We Met on the Internet
When I was struggling most during cricket
season, a big part of the lows was probably
seeing what everyone else was doing and that is pretty unavoidable in this day and age. People always say that everyone only posts the best bits on social media, but when all you’re seeing is summer holiday photos, weekends away and people doing things with their other half while you’re sat there on your own, you can spiral.
Nowadays, I still see it and sometimes I still wish it was me.
But it doesn’t affect me in the same way because I know so many of us are feeling it too.
And somehow, that makes it feel okay.
Not because any of us want other people to feel lonely or like they’re missing out, but because there’s comfort in knowing you’re not the only one.
Actually, with the evolution of this community, I’ve learnt that social media isn’t all bad either.
There are such good, positive sides to it and it can be a huge help. If it wasn’t for social media, I wouldn’t have found you lot. And I wouldn’t be able to use my favourite answer to the question of how I know someone..
“Ahh yeah, we met on the internet!”
I love using that line hahah!
SO Ready for a Break!
That being said, I am SO ready for a break from cricket.
I am hanging on to the thought of a September holiday, which I still haven’t booked because I’m waiting until the week before and making absolutely sure it is going to be hot and sunny wherever we go.
I’m not ready for summer to end, but I would love just a bit of summer with no cricket. It never happens but I can still say it out loud. It's always the point when you’re ready for the season to finish and the weather starts getting worse too. The games that would probably feel much more manageable if it was still hot and sunny suddenly feel a lot harder when you know you’re going to spend three rain-affected days sitting at the cricket club.
AKA Bank Holiday weekend.
That’s when you start thinking, FFS, we could have actually done something this weekend!
Although, to be fair, I did manage to get out of one of the three days by running an ultramarathon instead 😂
I’m not entirely sure that counts as a relaxing alternative, but it was definitely one way to break up a triple header.
The really hard thing is that this time of year is actually when the cricket ramps up again.
Finals days. League title crunch matches. Big games.
It all somehow requires more energy at exactly the point when you haven’t got much left to give.
So I feel very much lacking in enthusiasm when Tyler says, “Big game this weekend, Liv.”
Yeah.. wooo! 😂
30 Miles, Ten Clubs and Two Amazing Charities
My Bank Holiday Sunday looked slightly different this year, though.
Ten cricket clubs, 30 miles and two amazing charities!
Freya just goes along with my crazy ideas nowadays and I know she won't say no which means I never have to do things like this on my own. And if I'm honest I don't think I'd have the mental strength on my own! We had my Dad and his best friend as our support crew on the bikes and then our Mum and Aunty and Uncle as the support crew in the car.
Running between the clubs, seeing people come out to support us and having others join us for different legs of the route showed me just how many brilliant people cricket has brought into my life this year, and also how amazing the 'cricket family' is!
Both the Ruth Strauss Foundation and Pendleside Hospice do incredible work, and I’d also like to thank them for all their support. We felt very proud running in their vests on Sunday.
And now, somehow, we’re in September.
There’s Something About Cricket in September
There’s something about cricket in September that just feels different.
All summer, it feels never-ending.
Another Saturday. Another game. Another full day at the ground.
You complain about the weather, the long days, the late finishes and the fact your entire weekend somehow revolves around cricket.
And then September arrives.
The big coat is back. The umbrella is next to you on the boundary. The glass of wine has become a cup of tea. The light starts going earlier and you start checking how many games are actually left. And suddenly, after spending months feeling like cricket season would never end, you start noticing every last little bit of it.
The feeling of knowing you can turn up at any point in the day and there’ll always be someone you know there. The familiar faces you’ve seen every Saturday for months, who you suddenly realise you might not see again until April. And suddenly, you realise this whole little world you’ve been living in every weekend is about to disappear for six months.
It’s such a strange feeling.
Being completely ready for a break while also knowing you’re going to miss it when it’s gone.
I don’t think I’m going to miss the full days, the rain delays or trying to make plans around a game that may or may not finish at some point before midnight. But I will miss knowing there’s somewhere to go every Saturday. I’ll miss seeing the same people every weekend.
I’ll miss the random conversations, the familiar routines and the feeling of being part of this little world.
I didn’t really know how to describe that feeling, but hopefully this does.
Do I Actually Want a House Now?
And now that the ultramarathon is over and the end of the season is actually in sight, I’ve been thinking ahead to the off-season and to when me and T will spend some proper time together again.
Because being honest, I have spent so little time with him this summer.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve missed him so much that I’ve found myself going round to his house at 10pm just so we can watch an episode of something together for an hour.
Because sometimes, that is quite literally all the time we spend together on a weekend.
One hour, at the very end of the night, when everything else is done.
And strangely, I think it has started to shift something in me.
At no other point in my life have I ever felt ready to move out.
I’ve never been desperate to get a house or felt like I needed to rush into that next stage.
But recently, for the first time, I’ve found myself thinking: do I actually want a house now?
Because if we lived together, we would at least come home to the same place every night.
I wouldn’t have to decide at 10pm whether it’s worth going round just to see him for an hour. That hour would happen in our own home.
We’d go to sleep in the same place and wake up together the next morning.
And maybe that is what I’m craving now, not necessarily the house itself, but the normal, everyday bits of being together that we don’t really have at the moment.
But then another part of my brain is saying: Liv, he still isn’t actually going to be there any more than he is now.
A house isn’t going to make cricket finish earlier.
It isn’t going to change the training nights, the late finishes or the full weekends at the ground.
He might still only be sitting next to me for that one hour every night. We would just be watching the series in our own living room instead 😂
So I don’t know whether living together would genuinely give us more time, or whether my head has decided that a house is the answer because I’ve missed him so much this summer.
Maybe it wouldn’t create more hours together.
But perhaps those little moments would feel different if we were coming home to the same place every night.
Maybe it’s less about suddenly having loads more time and more about no longer having to arrange every tiny bit of time we do get.
I don’t know. It’s just the first time I’ve ever really been able to picture it.
Maybe cricket season hasn’t suddenly made me desperate to buy a house.
Maybe it has just made me realise how much I want to share the ordinary parts of life with him too.
Claiming Winter Back
And it has also made me think..
What if we do everything we should or would normally do over summer, but do it in winter instead?
Even if the weather isn’t as nice.
Almost like a bucket list of everything we don’t really get to do during summer because of cricket.
Weekends away, little trips, random days out and things we’d genuinely love to do together.
I’m not really a fan of the word “date”, but basically.. dates. 😂
And give you guys some ideas too!
Because if cricket gets our summer.. maybe we can claim the winter!
Some of your seasons have already finished, while some of us still have another two weeks to go. If you’re finally heading off on holiday, have the absolute best time! 😍
And if you’re still packing the big coat and heading back to the boundary this weekend, we’re nearly there. I’ll see you on the other side!
Lots of love Liv
P.S. There are now 20,000 of us! ❤️ I can’t believe I get to write that.
Thank you for reading, following and being part of this little corner of the internet, whether you’ve been here from the beginning or only found us yesterday. You are the reason and Iove you so much!
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