Labor Day – the beginning of the BEST 4

I was glad Labor Day fell on September 1^st and a Monday this year. We were refreshed from a weekend and had a wonderful day with the boys riding the rail trail, playing in the spray park at the end of the biking and hitting up Barnes & Noble with some gift cards! I was relaxed enough to take stock of how important September first has become to me. It isn’t really that it was Labor Day (not to diminish the holiday) but September 1^st is the ushering in of the best four months of the year! I sometimes feel like a little kid as autumn approaches. Sure some might think that my reason for loving the last four months of the year is for the holidays. That does play a part but isn’t the entire picture. September has been a favorite because it is also my birthday month (towards the very end). As a child I remember beginning school and feeling kind of smart and thinking I was an entire year younger than everyone else in my class. For example in Kindergarten I was 4 (and it showed) for the first month and unlike my poor niece (in law) who would often have her birthday fall on the first day of school or close to it and kind of be overlooked (how sad!!), I would get to be one of the first to celebrate their birthday with a new class of friends because we had settled into the routine. Even when I went away to college I remember being so proud of the fact I was only 17 (again it showed). Between the thrill of a new school year and my birthday I always loved September.

(pictures from our backyard in Michigan in 2007)

October is usually the best time for really enjoying autumn, although it depends on where you live. Living in Northern Maine I remember crisp mornings and changing colors earlier than I had been accustomed. I noticed a little bit of that here in Michigan last year as well and this year I have also seen some changing colors here and there but it’s far from full bloom. This is good because I like this to last as long as possible. I know many who find fall kind of depressing because winter is around the corner. But I’m much more of a cool weather person than warm weather, thus why I kind of ruled out anything below the Mason Dixon line for Nick to apply for work. OK so maybe I’m also just too much of a Yankee. Having lived in the Midwest now for almost 10 years I have grown a fondness for the ugly dried out corn and bean fields and watching combines roll through the field kicking up a dust storm and un-earthing the mice. Watching Nick and Dan, when he was about 3, riding in a combine of a friend was a real thrill. Just years before that I had no clue what a combine was. There are always fun farm stores, apple and pumpkin picking, hayrides, corn mazes and fresh pressed cider available. It is like magic for me. I do have to say that I still miss my friend Genni Lott’s fresh pressed apple juice back in Utah. It is the BEST I have ever and probably ever will have. We would watch her make it for us fresh.

Last year I bought a cute little scarecrow to decorate the front porch. I had to capture this picture of it because I can’t tell you how many times that scarecrow scared me! It kept falling and peeping into our window. It was really funny but not when you thought something was staring in at you.

Although Nick is not a fan of Halloween I love it. I just think it’s a fun time to be a kid. In fact the first year we were married we lived in some apartments that were prime target for lots of trick-or-treaters. I had the candy bowl ready and one of the first knocks at the door was a cute little girl and her dad. It was probably her first time out. After we did the routine she turns around and said “daddy that man scared me”. Yes Nick was at the door with me and NO he was not in costume. Not sure why he was so scary to her. It must have been the beard, such a heathen thing living in Utah. As a parent I don’t enjoy the candy aspect of Halloween and each year struggle to think of something unique and fun that isn’t just sugar. I’m not always successful. Any ideas for this year, please pass them along? By the way the kid's elementary school STILL calls it Halloween and actually does a parade around the neighborhood in full costumes! It was so fun last year.

Of course by the end of October stores are already putting Halloween candy and paraphernalia on clearance to make way for Christmas. But let’s not overlook Thanksgiving wedged in between these two money makers. I guess the stores make their money on food more than anything for Thanksgiving. Despite the fact that I think I have been sick in one way or another around Thanksgiving more often than not I still enjoy the holiday. I remember as a little girl having a horrible ear ache and my uncle making a house call to look in my ear and prescribe some warmed oil type drops. I didn’t understand why I had to feel so rotten on such a great day. As I got older it was mostly a horrible cold or flu. I ALWAYS get a flu shot these days. But if I say that is paying off I will no doubt get sick this year so I won’t jinx myself. I love this time of year so much that I have a large quote on our wall, thanks to Uppercase Living, that now reminds me year round to think about my thankfulness always. [The quote says: “The simplest things remind us of all that we have to be thankful for.”] No I don’t always have fall leaves around it. My leaves change with the seasons too.

It has been a tradition that Christmas music not be played in the house until after Thanksgiving. When I was working it was usually playing from my computer LONG before that! There is too much beautiful Christmas music to enjoy that it’s impossible to cram into a few weeks in a year. I think Sam is catching my obsession with Christmas music. He latched onto the “Jingles” CD by Voice Male that I had in the car so played often last year. He has asked for it many times throughout the year and has a few favorites. I’m also beginning to think he is an aspiring beatboxer so no wonder he loves the sounds. I could write an entire blog of funnies related to us listening to this CD in the car! Aside from the music there are so many aspects of Christmas and the final month of the year that just make it so special. It is a time that you look back and say WOW where did this year go! We are usually extra busy involved in this or that, thinking about other’s needs more so than we might have through the rest of the year. I am not always successful but I try every year to do as a good friend of mine (who is successful) does each year. She has Christmas shopping, wrapping and everything done by Thanksgiving. When this happens, even if it’s not completely done but well on its way it sure makes a difference in how much I can truly enjoy this season. I’m picturing it now – sitting by the fireplace sipping hot cocoa or wassail and watching the snow fall outside while the deer play in the backyard and hearing the strains of the Cambridge Singers beautiful renditions of John Rutter’s “What Sweeter Music” or “Wexford Carol” among all the Christmas music that is not only moving, inspiring but also fun. Ah Christmas, it’s a piece of heaven if we can allow the time for it to be.

For now it’s back to September. I guess reflecting on what I really enjoy feeling during these coming months helps me realize I better get life in order so I can truly experience the moments instead of rushing through them only able to enjoy them halfway!