September Sun

September has always been an enigma for me. Not quite summer but definitely not autumn. A transition month of epic proportions. After removing the back to school thoughts, this month has a certain glow that distinctly makes it retrospective.

My daughter was born in September and that has held moments of total joy for me from the past and with each celebration of her birthday. For the rest of the time, I remember the ripe tomatoes still warm from the sun, the color of roses, the tastes of the herb garden, all slowly passing into the last stages of summer. I am reluctant to let that go each year because the horizon of frost robbing life is expected.

Each September, I struggle with the change of weather which relegates the sandals and flip flops into the recesses of the closet and the restrictive leather of a full shoe pinches toes. Linen lets the cool evening air settle into my bones and fleece jackets ward off the chill. I think "Wasn't it just 90 degrees a few weeks ago?" Where has the time gone? That is what transition does for the mind and the soul.

You cannot grasp a moment and hold it but only in memory. And, as we move closer to the next season, I will hold onto the moments of summer as long as I can.