Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Labor Day Weekend and the End of Summer

Kayaking yesterday on a near by lake, I saw a man loosening the bolts on his dock to take it in for the season.  My son, visiting for the weekend, stayed up late Saturday night to watch Notre Dame football.  The leaves on the sugar maple are starting to turn.  This morning when I went outside, there was a chill in the air:  all signs that summer is over—at least in the northeast.
A lot of people make New Years’ resolutions, but how many of us still think of September as the real beginning of the year and a time for fresh starts? It also means the end of the summer.  Although summer isn’t officially over until the 21st, for all practical purposes Labor Day is when summer ends.  That could be the reason I greet September and the Fall with a certain amount of melancholy. I even start counting down the days in early August, anticipating summer’s end. 
I’m not sure of the reason although I’m sure it has to do with the fact that September for me still means the beginning of the school year in spite of having graduated from college over 40 years ago. Although I’m a lawyer and was in school for a number of years, I never liked the rigidness.  I’m not very good at following rules—at least when it comes to the ones made by other people.  Maybe that’s why I’m a writer.
But besides school starting, September also means that official “fun” is done with until next summer.  This is not to say that there is no fun to be had during the rest of the year, but it has always seemed, except for maybe Christmas, summer is the time when the fun is scheduled in, be it trips to the beach, picnics, outdoor concerts, hikes and best of all, anything involving water. 
Living all my life in the northeast, summer is the only time we can go boating, water skiing and swimming.  Once September comes, you’re pushing it.  This past weekend I wasn’t the only one who sniffed the air and said, “Dammit, it’s starting to feel like fall.”  This sentence, mind you, is always accompanied by a sorrowful shake of the head.

There is, of course, the positive side to the arrival of Fall.  It’s a time of the fresh starts I mentioned earlier and the do-overs.  Just as in high school when I would harbor hope that the new school year would be different than the old with new teachers and new opportunities to succeed, there is still that optimism in the air every September.  Whether it’s something simple, like a resolution to go to yoga class more often—and I’m not the only one, September classes are almost as crowded as January’s—or to finally take a painting class, most of us view September as a kind of reboot or renew.  We are starting with a clean slate, with a chance to do what we’ve put off for months or even years.

Deborah Nolan has two romances with Montlake, SUDDENLY LILY and CONFLICT OF INTEREST and one with Desert Breeze Publishing, SECOND ACT FOR CARRIE ARMSTRONG.  Her second romance, STARTING OVER, is coming out in January 2017 with Desert Breeze.
When she is not writing, she is usually taking yoga classes in NYC or Hudson, NY or art classes in the city. 

8 comments:

  1. Always a touch of sadness when summer ends for the things you've mentioned and so much more but lots to look forward to. Mucho Gusto.

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    1. you're right, there is a lot to look forward to. I thought about that yesterday after I posted. Even TV is better in the fall!! :)

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  2. Though I live on the Gulf Coast where the heat hangs around well into the fall, September still marks the end of quite a bit of summer activities. With school and football we put away many of our summer toys and pull out football attire. It might still be hot, but the feeling of all is still here.

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    1. Good point. The reason I mentioned the northeast is because my daughter is in LA and she can still go to the beach in the winter. But I do get that even the "No white after Labor Day" applies (or doesnt) no matter where you live and school and all that it means starts everywhere.

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  3. Deborah, I agree that September seems like the beginning of a new year. Usually, I'm sorry to see summer end, but this one has been so brutal (at least here in the Philly area) that I'll be glad to wave goodbye. Nice post.

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    1. We had the same weather in New York. Too hot and dry! But still, hate to see the summer ends. It means winter will be coming and it's supposed to be a cold and snowy one.

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  4. A lovely post portraying the mixed feelings most of us feel when we say goodbye to summer. Here in the Northwest, though, September and October are considered the two most beautiful months of the year at the coast. I always appreciate having that to look forward to.

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    1. I fell in love with Seattle and Portland after spending long August weekends there. Your weather not nearly as humid. I guess I need to also be there in the fall. Then I'll never want to go home.

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