September

September has historically been my favourite month. This is mostly because it is my birthday month, and when I was a child that was obviously of great importance. I also used to love school (primary that is), and relished the return to it after summer. That is of course why so many people despise September, as well as more rain and the coming chill of winter being felt in the air. Even so, September is so often full of bright days, the sky a beautiful blue, the changing colours of the leaves on the trees bringing a vibrancy that cheers as the summer slips away.

As a self-confessed sufferer of SAD I should not relish the signs of the coming winter, but I am one drawn to my own melancholy, and the deep cold of January is still some way off. Autumn can be the start of something new as much as spring can. At church the youth work starts the new term soon with our new youth minister in place, my husband returns to university for his MSc one day a week, and I handed in my notice on Thursday so that I will be leaving my job at the end of the month... There are new starts this September, new adventures beginning, and the month has begun with the sun shining, and the skies a stunning blue.

This September the excitement of my childhood has returned to me, and I want to treasure that, if just for a little while.

A relaxing autumn afternoon at Standen near East Grinstead, September 2010

Photo my own.