Friday, September 18, 2009

September brain

I feel a little cheated. I've lost my September brain.

I've always loved September. Maybe it's the preponderance of birthdays. Starting with mine at the end of August, two brothers and my sister and my mother and various cousins have birthdays in September. Maybe it's the nip in the air. I've lived on the East Coast for much of my life, and a shift occurs in the September weather. Days get shorter, vegetables stop producing, flowers give their final flourish. The air feels bracing, cleaner and purer, ridding itself of the humidity and heat the fuels the summer months.

But mostly, it was back to school. Back to school clothes, plaid skirts and new shoes. Back to promises of untold adventures in learning. Back to books. New pencils and fresh notebooks appealed to the Virgo in me. Unopened texts appealed to the scholar in me. New kids appealed to the writer in me. The September brain was primed, ready to go. Eager to be taught, open to new experiences.

Changes in weather here in Northern California are subtle. After thirteen years here, I still don't know if it's normal if it rains in September. Or what the average temperature should be. The range is so small, that it always feels the same.

But it's not the weather that has robbed me of my September brain. Instead it was a September deadline that kept me hard at work all summer. I missed the summer playtime brain that allows the September brain to flourish. The rest and respite that produces the pent up desire to learn.

I can feel my brain is lazy, wanting to hang out on the beach and watch the surfers. Go to the carnival and eat cotton candy. Read comics under the tree out back. I'm an adult now, so a two-month layoff is not in the offing. I'm hoping to jumpstart the process a bit sooner.

A nice crisp day would help, but the forecast is for nineties. All I can do is hang ten and hope my September brain catches up with me soon.

7 comments:

Monica Ferris said...

I lived in the San Francisco area for several years and while I loved it very much I missed the extreme change of seasons of the midwest. I'm getting into September a whole lot here in Minnesota and I'm entirely in sympathy with your "September brain" mood change. Wish you could visit for a week; it might jump-start your energy level.

Anonymous said...

It is NOT normal for it to rain in September--I still don't know what last weekend was about!

So you need to take next week's heat and go to the beach for summer, then shoot into a real fall when you go back east. Then you'll be ready for winter.

Rest, relax, recharge.

Dru said...

Summer was just too short and September is just too cold.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy the rest of September.

Again, thanks for the help yesterday.

Linda O. Johnston said...

September used to be my favorite month, especially as I grew up in the east and loved autumn. Then some sad things happened in September and I liked it less. But there've recently been some September weddings that brought it back up in my estimation. Part of my love of the month stems from my adoration of the musical The Fantasticks, and its signature song: Try To Remember.

Betty Hechtman said...

September in Southern California is more about burning trees than turning leaves. I realized the smell of smoke reminds me of fall here, which is kind of creepy.

I love September and October in Chicago. The sky seems to be a deeper blue, the sun golden and the trees begin to turn.

Donna Lea Simpson said...

I usually love September, the fall fairs, the crisp feeling in the air, apples, cooking warmer meals like stew and soup. Finally the weather in Canada is starting to cooperate, with a crisper feel to the nights. But it's so dry! No lovely rainy days to enjoy.

One thing that autumn always means to me is picking up my hobbies again, particularly cross stitching!

Jaye said...

I am glad I am not the only one that has a family full of September Birthdays. It is like one after another for weeks on end. I guess January and February are cold months! ;-)