September Feels Like a Second New Year
We woke up to cooler air this morning and, finally, a break from the humidity that has made being outside feel like a punishment. I could feel for the first time the pause between summer and fall. The air felt refreshing instead of heavy and I swear my whole body went ahhhh. And for the first time, I spotted a few yellow and red leaves on otherwise fully green trees.
Tim quickly reminded me the high would still climb into the 80s, lest I get too carried away and reach for long sleeves. And honestly, I loved that. It’s what I love most about this month. Not quite out of summer. Not fully into fall. Just the changing of the season. What started out as a crisp morning turned into an afternoon getting ice cream by the lake. Two seasons in one day.
There’s something about September that feels like a second New Year to me. Summer Kim ~ all chill vibes and bare minimum ~ suddenly morphs into get-shit-done Kim. I’m convinced this is the month I’ll organize the pantry, cook actual meals again, exercise every morning, read every night and somehow be totally prepped for the holidays. But not in the New Year’s resolution, “what do I need to fix about myself?” kind of way. September makes me look around and ask, what do I want more of? How do I want to show up?
Less judgment. More invitation.
It feels like a fresh perspective. Knowing Michigan cold is coming before long, I suddenly want to prepare our nest. Dinner simmering on the stove. Books stacked and waiting. A fresh journal with blank pages. Putting my first garden to bed for winter and writing down everything it taught me this summer. I want to make the house feel warmer, calmer, more lived in. Not perfect. Just ready for the season ahead. Maybe that’s why September feels so different from January. I’m not trying to become someone else. I’m just remembering what makes me feel like myself.
September doesn’t make me want a different life. It makes me want to come back to mine. And I love that summer hasn’t completely left yet. There may still be ice cream by the lake and afternoons in the 80s. Fall can take its time. I’m happy here in the in-between.
