This is such a nostalgic time of year for me. I imagine that there are those, like me, who find September and the beginning of the fall season more like 'New Year' than 'New Years.' September for so much of my life was the start of school, in Salmo then in Campbell River, then in Victoria, then in Toronto. I loved the sense of a new start, I loved the nice clean books with pages left blank for me to fill with notes, with drawings and doodles, and with, tucked in margins, hopes and dreams.
We were walking through the U of T campus near us and saw all the young students rushing off to destinations they hadn't found yet - not realizing that this would be the way it will be for their entire lives. We saw parents teary goodbyes, we saw boxes and boxes and boxes of Kraft Dinner. Excited chatter contrasted with solitary anxiety as various students with various ways of dealing with change unloaded cars and vans and trucks.
It's hard not to envy them. It's hard not to wish to be amongst them and feel the feeling that the life yet to come holds so much promise and so much uncertainty. Even though I like the life I'd leading, I like the direction I'm going, I like the predictability - inasmuch as it can be - of my life. I know where I'll be in November - giving a keynote in California. I have a calendar and there are all sorts of things listed to do, people listed to meet, reports listed to be written, meetings listed to be had, travel listed to be done. I'm good with that.
But. Still. I kind of like the idea of a new start, of blank pages, of pens yet unclicked.
So for those like me, who are feeling this feeling.
Happy (Real) New Year
Sharing with the several college freshmen in my life. Thx, Dave!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in a teacher's home, and then becoming a teacher, I sure know that September is the new year. :) I've retired, and I'm happy about that, but I still miss the excitement of the first day, meeting "my" children. Mine, because they are my charges for the year, and mine, because I always fell in love with them all. I still have schoolmares all summer, not being able to find the yarn duty list, having no supplies in my classroom, no lesson plans and so on. But I miss the start of school. Do you remember, as I do, how those new notebooks smelled, and the erasers and freshly sharpened pencils? :) samm
ReplyDeleteIT's funny that you wrote about New Beginnings in September. Currently I'm going through a long term break up and stepped out on my front porch on Monday and thought the same thing. New month almost like a new year and a fresh start for new opportunities. Thank you for the posts it always puts a smile on my face and always uplifting as life is an adventure.
ReplyDeleteThis is when the Jewish New Year starts. It's always made sense to me to think of it that way too.
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