It's time

The Fantasticks musical debuted in 1960, three years before I made my own debut into this world. But the opening song, "Try to Remember" was a piece of music I had to learn for something in my childhood and the song has always stuck with me.

"Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow..."

It seemed fitting this plaintive, sentimental song came to mind as I looked through our old photos for some fall images to decorate the mantel last week.  It's hard to believe these photos were taken so many Septembers ago but they were.  Eleven years ago, swimmer girl was a cute kindergartener and middle son was just a boy and his dogs, aptly named Duke and Daisy.  Just a few years before that, oldest son was a proud middle school football player back in Oklahoma.

Whether it's just the inevitable progression of the season, or Hurricane Irene pushing around the pressure systems, the first hint of cool breezes hovers just under the radiating heat of July and August.  It's time.

It is time to do a few things.

Things like...

• Change the flag to show the world our orange on September 12 (just not before 9/11.)
• Update the mantel (watch for photos this week...)
• Plan our fall break getaway (I am SO looking forward to heading somewhere warm and southern and sunny for a week with swimmer girl and a group of friends!)
• Purchase some spring bulbs to plant in the next few weeks.
• Finish up the canning and preserving season (figs and tomatoes are almost done; pears and roasting peppers are next.)

Yes, it's still plenty warm -- downright hot most days. Indian summer will not put in appearance for a while, but it's time to do these things. Because as sure as I breathe, autumn is on its way. The days are getting shorter and everywhere I turn, there's a whisper on the wind, letting me know that fall is not afar off.
We've now experienced a full season - the entire summer - in our new home. I have loved every minute of it, even the heat.  And now when I stand at my kitchen sink in the evenings, the western sky hints at what is to come. If I close my eyes, I can envision the cool rainy days that so often follow the tropical storms and hurricanes. Mornings will soon be wrapped in a cool fog.  Impossibly blue fall skies will be punctuated by days of gray and the cold rains of late fall and early winter. If our summer is any indication of Mother Nature's temperament, winter is already isn't likely to wait demurely in the wings this year.

For once, instead of dreading the approaching colder weather, I can hardly wait. I look at our home and I already see it bedecked with the trappings of the holidays. It is a house meant for gathering family and friends, and it's been heartwarming to see family and friends gathering together frequently here.  Baking bread, bubbling soups and stews and hearty meals and fellowship await. They will buoy and sustain us through the gray months of winter.

But for now, it is time to feel the warmth of summer tamed by the faintest hint of fall breeze, and all that comes with it. Welcome, fall and all it holds in store for family, friends and football.

Happy Monday,