30 Days Has September

September:
it was the most beautiful of words, he’d always felt,
evoking orange flowers, swallows, and regret.

-Alexander Theroux

All right, fine, this is an orange butterfly, not an orange flower. I’ve never been fond of the yellows, orange and deep reds of autumn flowers; they pale in comparison to the cacophony that happens in spring, and are poor substitutes for the fiery display that happens in the trees.

Today is the first of September, a day that’s as full of promise as the New Year without the icy temps and the hangover. Like January 1, the first of September is a hard line, a mental before and after: a bridge from summer into fall, a re-settling in to familiar routines and schedules.

The school year has just begun and though the afternoons are still hot, humid and close, we can already discern a change in the air at night. It’s nearly time for flannel leggings and comfy sweaters; for hayrides and falling leaves and pumpkin spice all-the-things.

Before all that, it’s time for a bit of fall cleaning. We need to change over wardrobes to accommodate the falling temperatures, clear out pool noodles to make room for jackets and backpacks, take advantage of the brilliant autumn light to give the house a thorough once over while the windows are still left open.

It’s a time of buzzy business like that of the bees and the ants, but this year I’m very conscious that this is the time to savor, before we hit Halloween and freefall through the holidays to year’s end. For me September is a time to remember the promises I made to myself standing at the brink of the fresh new year; I’ve only a few short months left to make good, and so very much I want to do.

I absolutely carry regret for the things I didn’t do this summer, but there’s nothing to be done about that now. Regret is simply a sadness-tinged waste of time— better to pack summer away, lovingly, and then set out anew: basking in the golden afternoons, senses set alive by cooling breezes and the sound of birds excitedly rushing to new climes. New seasons mean new opportunities for adventure.

30 days has September. What will you do with yours?