No, no... I haven't lost that much track of time. The season I'm referring to is autumn and of course, with it, Back to School. Rumor has it that much of the country still adheres to the old schedule of "first Tuesday after Labor Day" is the first day of school. Which makes perfect sense, really, unless you live in Florida. It's never been a matter of course for us down here. In fact, the last time I remember school starting the Tuesday after Labor Day was maybe when I was in first grade, a... erm, long time ago. As a general rule, school went back sometime during the last week of August, sometime after my birthday. (The 25th for those of you playing along with the home game.) Then, for a while, many school districts in Florida were even starting earlier, in some cases, as early as the first week of August. Can you imagine? In Florida, even with air conditioning, this sucks. A lot. Luckily, reason has begun prevailing again and most kids will be going back to school starting this coming week.
The lead up for all this? The transition from summer to fall, and back to school affects me too. Not just because I get to go shopping for school supplies and clothes and become The Enforcer where earlier bedtimes and homework is concerned, but because it's sort of the signal for me to buckle down and get back to work. Now, mind you, I'm an incurable workaholic, so I never really stop working throughout the year, but there's just something about seeing all the clean backpacks and stacks of fresh notebooks and bins of pens with ink in every color known to man (my own personal weakness), that brings to mind new beginnings and projects and schedules and really juices me up. And football-- college, preferably. (Go Noles!) And comfort foods. There's just so much to love about autumn, not the least of which is that part where I get the house back to myself. That totally rocks.
The one thing that I really miss, being back down in Florida, is the knowledge that the temperatures will soon start to cool down and the leaves will change. Temps in North Florida won't really drop until, oh... late November. Maybe. Which kind of rots, because I live for cooler temperatures. I'm one of those whackjobs whose energy levels rise in proportion to the temperatures dropping. Eh-- so I'll just put a nice changing leaves screensaver on the monitor, turn the air-conditioner down a degree or two, and buy a nice fresh notebook and pack of pens.
School's in session and I'm ready to get back to work. What about you guys? Any particular season do it for you?
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4 comments:
I'm ready to get back to writing too. The summer is busy with the kids home, activities, and trips. I can barely focus. With school starting it is back to routine and work!
I grew up in Boston but now live in Miami and I really miss the fall too. I miss the changing of the leaves, apple picking and celebrating Halloween when it is cold. But school is starting here tomorrow and I'm eager to get back to my writing schedule, even if it's still 90 degrees outside.
I love the fall, too. Always reminds me of starting college when the nights got crisp and the days were all brand new.
Still, will miss the warm days of summer.
And of course, the first day of school was delayed by Tropical Storm Fay. The upside, though, the munchkins go back on my birthday-- they're actually kind of offended that I'm so pleased by this. *g*
Danielle and Jenny, I lived in Ohio for ten years and OMG, I loved the leaves changing soooo much and those crisp days and nights. I love pulling out the down comforter and my flannel jammies. (My poor husband-- he used to just roll his eyes at me!)
And you know, Jenny, I got to a point where I didn't so much miss the warm days of summer, but after a long winter, I would look forward to the days warming up and everything turning green again. I think that's the thing I miss the most about four distinct seasons-- you really appreciate each one for its uniqueness and the beauty it brings.
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