A few of my favorite things.

Why I Love September

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way first. September is my birth-month. So that could have a lot to do with why I love it. But it's more than that.

September is that perfect month that can’t make up its mind if it’s summer or fall. So you have beautiful, warm, sunny days and cool nights that make you want to pull on that favorite old sweater again, or make a bonfire and roast marshmallows, or curl up under a down quilt and read a good book.

September is also back-to-school month. (I know, some states start school before the middle of August, which is sacrilegious and ought to be illegal, which it is in Wisconsin, which is the sensible state that I happen to live in.)

Now, some people may not consider “back-to-school” a good thing, but when I was a kid, before I was old enough to go to school, I would cry when my sisters left for school and I couldn’t go with them. Once I started school, I rather enjoyed it, since I was the kind of kid who was lousy at practically everything that required any sort of physical coordination or athletic ability, but when it came to things like reading and doing math and taking tests, it turns out I was pretty good at it. So I got a lot of affirmation at school, and for me it was a nice place to be (except for gym class--but we’ll leave that for another post).

And then there’s the whole Back-to-School Supplies part of September, which is another thing I really liked about school--picking out new pencils and erasers and folders and binders and loose-leaf paper with dividers so you could have a section for each class, color-coded with a little tab that matched the folder for that class, where you could put all your assignments and graded papers after you got them back from your teacher. If September has a scent, it is definitely the smell of new erasers and freshly sharpened pencils.

Once I was grown and had school-age kids of my own, September and back-to-school meant that I would have a little more time to myself and could reorganize my life around a schedule, as opposed to summers, when I tried to give the kids more freedom and allow them unscheduled time, and my house got crazy and the kids would be always underfoot and leaving their stuff everywhere and I felt like I was constantly picking up after them and making Kool-aid and snacks and packing a beach bag and taking them to the pool or keeping an eye on them when they played in the yard or helping them get a lemonade stand up and running and watching from the window in case a strange van pulled up, ostensibly to buy lemonade but really to snatch my children and take them God knows where.

September is more of a New Year to me than January. I find myself making resolutions about becoming more organized or having more family dinners together or packing healthier lunches for my kids (although that’s pretty much a thing of the past for me now, thank goodness!). It’s more of a new beginning for me than Spring. I usually get around to my spring cleaning in September, and I find time to restart my exercise routine and get all those sweaters hand washed that have been waiting since last winter.

So yes, September still gives me a good feeling, although I’m afraid that when my youngest is out of school and my college kids graduate or don’t come home for the summer anymore, I’m going to lose some of that rhythm in my life. But I'm not going to think about that right now, with my youngest a senior in high school. We have to go shopping for school supplies. One last time.