Holding It All Together
By Amy McCollom
Like a familiar friend, September has arrived. There is such an excitement in the air; such an anticipation thick like fog that hovers around us. The air gets cooler, the trees get more colorful, the scurrying animals in the neighborhood get busier. There is just an anxiousness that is everywhere. You can sense that something is getting ready to happen. I just love Fall.
September is a time for fresh starts, like starting school, college, new jobs, or an adventure. It’s also a time for change, a good-bye, a “hold that thought,” a time to let go of summer and get back down to business. A harvest time. A chance to start over. Every new opportunity brings with it the possibility for growth. Embrace it.
Autumn touches every one of our senses. We see the colors, the leaves falling, we hear the crunching leaves under our boots, the bands playing the school song at Friday night football games. We feel the air turn colder, and the softness of flannel against our neck, the warmth of holding hands. We smell the wood fire, the roasted hotdogs, the hot apple cider, pumpkin and spice. And we taste the cinnamon and apple and caramel and warm chocolate, and all the tastes that make fall so perfect.
September, dear friend, You bring back some of my favorite memories. You made me 15 again when that boy gave me his horse necklace at the football game and we kissed for the first time.
September, you brought with you cool winds to stir the memories of charred marshmallows that I ate anyway, of hotdogs and hayrides, field parties, and perfect clear night skies that could make two people fall in love. Oh, how you brought bright sunny days, those hoodie-wearing-days, when younger legs had strength and joy to climb hills and run down the other side. Perfect days when you didn’t sweat, but could wrestle in the grass with your brother half of the afternoon.
Oh September, you are almost perfect. And politics aside, I can’t imagine living in any other climate where I didn’t see the changing of the seasons. It is what I expect, and what I long for. I need the seasons in my life to stay balanced physically and emotionally. It’s a rhythm thing with me.
Earth, Wind, And Fire got the rhythm and groove right in 1978 with their number one hit song “September” and it certainly carries it’s groove even today. I was 13 when “September” was a hit, but it can still transport me back instantly several decades, with those first five words. Amazing.
There are tons of songs written about the month of September. Some are uplifting, and others are more somber. I tend to favor the happier tunes. I figure there is enough negative in the world without looking for it or trying to keep it around. So I avoid it at all costs. That is perhaps why I do not like movies that “pull on the heart strings,” per se. Besides, I am rather an empath, and feel things more deeply than most people, thus I choose to avoid unpleasant feelings at all costs.
October is just around the bend. Then you are dealing with some serious autumn weather and decor. Holiday thinking kicks off in October, and the busyness too. That is perhaps why I enjoy September just a wee bit more. September is the change-over month. Nothing too harsh, it gently nudges you from the heat of the summer to the cooler colorful days of fall.
In most ways I can think of, September is just a perfect month. Don’t you agree with me? Comments are welcome.