Golden September
‘We know that in September, we will wander through the warm winds of summer’s wreckage. We will welcome summer’s ghost’ – Henry Rollins.
September is my favourite month of the year. I love the quiet move away from summer, the nights noticeably drawing in and the first really chilly mornings. The kind of mornings where you wonder if you should have brought a coat, and your breath smokes around you, but by mid-morning it has warmed up sufficiently to feel relief that you haven’t dug out the winter woollies just yet.
The light changes in September. The warm, bright light of summer fades and becomes crisper, whiter, cooler. The leaves turn – fresh, vibrant green becomes yellow, then orange, and finally brown. The trees seem on fire with a riot of colour and everywhere, there is a sense that the world is closing down for winter.
It’s not only the natural changes I like about September. I like the feeling of closure. The end of summer, and the inevitable slide towards winter. There is a feeling of reflection during September, people pausing to remember their summer. As children, there’s the return to school, and even now as an adult, I feel that day with a mixture of disappointment and anticipation. Even now, I still think in school years rather than actual years!
When I was little, returning to school after the long summer holidays was never really a problem. I was of course sad that the weeks of freedom were over, but I liked going back and seeing my friends again, settling down into the school routine, being a year older and of course, the new uniform, the new shoes, the new bag, the new coat, the new books and pens and classes and desks and teachers… Whilst September is about remembering our wonderful summers, it can also be about embracing the new challenges that lie ahead and starting afresh.
At university, September meant leaving home again after a couple of months at home. I found that harder than school – the limbo between living at home for two months out of a suitcase and living another, separate life a few hundred miles away. The adjustment back into city living. The independence of no longer living at home, at least until the Christmas holidays.
And finally, to the present. No school. No university. No long summer break. My holiday hasn’t even happened yet – I’m going away in three weeks for a fortnight and that’s my break. I have had a great summer though. A trip to the seaside. Visits from old friends. The Jubilee weekend. The Olympics – a summer of sport. The few weeks of glorious sunshine. Show Week 2012. The World Alternative Games 2012. Friends and family. BBQs (just one or two). And even work. Work throughout June, July and August, when before I used to have time to kill. I’ve enjoyed nearly every minute.
October is grey, November dark. December brings Christmas and the twinkle of fairy lights, the delicious smells of winter cooking and The Tree. I love Christmas. My birthday is in January. February is cold. And then March arrives. If September is a month for reminiscing, reflection and saying goodbye to the summer, March really is the month to look forwards and welcome the summer yet again. With the clocks going forward in March and the evenings really starting to draw out, it’s time to dig out the summer clothes again and begin making plans…
But not now. Yesterday I cleaned my room. Today I spent time cooking. I’ve been looking online for Christmas presents. Yesterday, my friend announced she was officially over her summer wardrobe and put on a coat and boots to go out in. I’ve dug out my woolly hat and consigned my flip-flops to the pile of things I’m taking with me to Ghana (a little last piece of summer before winter proper!). Yesterday, I wore thick tights out. In less than two weeks, my friend will come back from her summer in Falaraki where she was repping. That will really mark the end of summer. The children are back in school – the car park at work is overflowing at nine o’clock when parents drop their kids off. Tonight it will be dark by eight pm. Good Saturday night telly is back on – Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, X Factor and The Thick Of It. Merlin will start soon too.
So it’s time to dig out my hot water bottle, pull on my slipper socks and get cosy. Time to let go of summer and remember why we all love winter too. There is nothing nicer than the smell of a hot water bottle or a glass of mulled wine. It won’t be long before there is frost. We’ll moan about the cold, and if it snows, there’ll be chaos, because there always is and we always do. But we moan about hot weather too, so really, we can’t win.
I for one am looking forward to winter this year. Even if my car windscreen is frozen every morning for months, I’m going to try to embrace it (although I can’t make any promises!). I’m getting excited about needing to wear a coat again, and at the thought of buying a new pair of boots. I’d even quite like it if it snowed. The dark nights and cold weather can help us hide a multitude of sins. We can eat more, drink more. And Christmas is coming…