“Season’s Turning Point”  

Ah, September… a peculiar time of year, sort of.  When you think about it, so many other months of the year just sort of blend into and out of one another.  But not September.  September is like the start of a new chapter in a book.  Maybe even the first chapter.  For even though it is not technically the start of a new year, September for many of us represents just that.

With September comes the end of summer – barbecues, swimming pools, day camp, family vacations, outdoor special events(!), and brutally hot weather.  With September comes the start of noticeably shorter and cooler days (usually!), the smell of crisp, fall-like air.  Strolls around the valley.  Bike rides.  The first glimpse of color in the trees.

Most of all, September signals children going back to school.  Trips to the store for bookbags and school supplies.  Take out the cooler weather clothing.  Pack healthy food snacks in lunch boxes.  See who the new teachers are, and whether Mom and Dad will still be able to help with this year’s homework!

September feels to most of us like getting back to the old routine.  Some folks experience this as a relief, others as a letdown.  We may head back to the gym after a couple of months spent outdoors.  We may resume going to the movies rather than to all those picnics and water amusement parks.  We may start serving soup instead of so many exotic salads.

To me it’s always seemed not coincidental that immediately following September comes the long season of monthly holidays, right through to Memorial Day.  We need something to look forward to on a regular basis, and with the passing of summer that’s especially true.  So we get Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Passover, April Fool’s, and even more sprinkled throughout.

Oh well, on this bittersweet occasion of the year’s book turning a page, I think of the refrain from the old song – “To everything, turn, turn, turn….  There is a season, turn, turn, turn…..”  Furthermore, who knows what exciting times await us in the coming year?  I, for one, am eager, enthusiastic, and more than ready to find out!

I trust you are as well!