September
By
Rosanne Gulisano
September
is the beginning of things and the end of things.
The
endings are manifested with a sigh. Summer clothes, beach togs and sandbox toys
are put away until next year. The lake houses are closed and shuttered. Flowers
in our yards are languishing, looking faded and colorless. The leaves start to
dry out and curl up at the ends, with the faint onset of those magical colors
of fall. The heat and humidity that have plagued the city for the months of
July and August suddenly disappear and leave us to breathe in peace.
September
also heralds the beginning of things. Years ago, I made a trip with my mother
to the local shopping area on a city bus to search for shoes, dresses, and
those enticing new school supplies. It was the anticipation of receiving my
room assignment in the mail and checking with my friends to see if any of them
were in my class.
In
high school, September was the start of new classes, purchasing textbooks and
getting used to different teachers and subjects. What classes would I
love—which would I dread? Again, finding friends in the same class was a happy
bonus. Now we students were in school uniforms, so our new acquisions
were limited to shoes and purses. The trip to the mall yielded some fashionable
clothing purchases, however, for those marvelous teen social times. The Glee
Club started up again as well as our neighborhood Teen Club with its twice a month Tuesday evening dances. There was a dance
every Sunday night at St. Sabina’s Parish Hall. These were the hub of my social
life.
As
an adult, September meant getting my own children ready for school. Reliving
the past, the excitement of class assignments and new notebooks and pencils
were just as energizing, as I watched the anticipation of my two girls. Now I
had the added bonus of being the mom who sent the kids off on the first day of
class and breathed a sigh of relief. Summer was great, but after the August
boredom set in, it sometimes seemed endless.
Now
I watch my daughters go through the September routine with their sons and my
own excitement lies in the beginning of choir, the fall and winter lecture
circuit and the many club activities I enjoy. By the end of September, we are firmly
entrenched in our old routines, as though the long summer break never happened.
Even
more recently, September reminds me of another end—the end of innocence, for it
is the unforgettable anniversary of
Soon
September will give way to October’s brilliant blue sunny skies, decorating for
Halloween, cleaning up leaves and putting the garden to bed. Another holiday
season will be upon us, another Happy New Year celebration, another
long winter. And we begin again, looking ahead to spring, then summer, with
September as the month of beginnings and endings.