With the start of Fall, there are oodles of posts and articles about fashions for the cooler weather, ideas for Halloween costumes and decorating, and recipes for holiday favorites. Fall is my favorite season and I look forward to relishing every minute of it. However for me, Fall is more than boots and colorful leaves and soup. It signals to me the start of a ‘new year’ and an opportunity for a fresh start more so than January 1st does for several reasons.
One of these reasons is that the school year starts in the Fall and for about 20 years that was an important annual occurrence in my life. On the first day of class(es) the slate was clean and I would start the term with excitement and determination to turn in all assignments on time and ace all of the tests. New textbooks that creaked when opened for the first time and three-ringed notebooks waiting to be filled were like special gifts that marked the occasion. More recently, back-to-school prep was about getting my kids ready for school and back into a schedule that was dictated by sport practices and helping with homework.
Another reason is that my birthday is in the early Fall and there is likely no other marker for the “end of one year and start of another” that is more profound than one’s birthday. People probably make more resolutions on their birthday then they do on January 1. Several years ago after being disappointed in myself for allowing the day of my birthday to pass without much recognition or celebration by me, I pledged that I would have special plans on my future birthdays. One year I had a “24 hour” birthday where I was awake for the entire 24 hours because why would I want to sleep on such a special day. If my birthday is during the week, I take the day off on vacation because my boss won’t declare the day a holiday. If it’s on the weekend, then I take either Friday before or the Monday after because sometimes you need more than one day to celebrate your birthday.
And lastly, in my single days, several of my relationships either started or ended in the Fall so for a few years the start of the season would trigger memories of those relationships. More to the point, my husband and I began our relationship in early Fall and, although we married in late Summer, it was Fall when we moved into our first house and began our lives together. Each anniversary we looked back at what we’ve experienced in the past year and formulate plans for the upcoming year.
Fall this year brings with it those familiar signs of fresh starts. The start of the school year is still a marker but this time around it has been about getting our son is settled into his dorm and ready to start life as college student. My birthday is coming up soon and since it is on a Sunday, I will be celebrating all weekend. So far there are plans to attend a concert and go to a well-known once-a-month swap meet (it’s a shopping thing). My husband and I had hoped that we would have been able to get out-of-town for a week or so for our anniversary as we hadn’t been on a “just the two of us” vacation in a very long time. Unfortunately, we had to delay those plans to November but it’s still Fall so it counts.
And lastly I plan to formally launch this blog in a few weeks. Up until now I have made no effort to publicize this website other than reading and commenting on other blogs, a Facebook page with only a couple of Likes, and a Twitter account with very few followers. My husband and children know about it as do a friend or two but that’s it. I appreciate the blog followers that have found me so far and I am excited to see if there are others who will want to follow me as well.
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