September can be the new January.
Happy New Year!
No, you didn’t just wake from a long slumber. September can be the new January. Let me explain.
For those with school-age children, September signals the start of an annual cycle. Before the weather even starts to chill, a new school year brings an unofficial end to summer. But that end is also a new beginning—a new grade, and sometimes an entirely new school, can be a fresh start for the student. A chance for new friendships, exploring new interests and hobbies, and an ever-growing independence.
Likewise, parents reset their schedules for the “school year.” Gone are summer camps, extended day-care, and summer-hours at work. (Did those go away with COVID’s shift to work-from-home?) In short, it can be an abrupt change in daily life, but one that recurs on schedule, like New Year’s Day.
Even with my schooling long out of the picture, and no children of my own to get ready for classes, I still look at flipping the calendar to September as a beginning rather than an end. It’s a chance for a clean slate. A good time to examine where we are in life, including behaviors and habits we’d like to start or stop, as the case may be.
But when you think about it, why do fresh starts have to be annual, or even seasonal? Why not make them a monthly, weekly, or even daily event. Check in with yourself, reflect on what you’re grateful for, and set new goals.
Dig out those old New Year’s resolutions and see if they are still relevant. Maybe it’s time to start a new hobby, take a class, learn a sport or language. As I mentioned in my July ‘22 blog post, keeping that brain flexible and vital is important for long-term health.
So, do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut? Then now is a perfect time to reset your goals and make today your honorary New Year.
Please share some of your ideas in the comment section. Maybe even challenge your friends to join you in celebrating the beginning that September offers. Leave the end-of-summer lamenting to the kids.
Happy New Year!
Our annual revitalization has come at a three-month offset from the new wall calendar. For years we have seen September/October as prime vacation time as it is off-cycle with much of the rest of the country. Families necessarily travel when jobs/schools traditionally grant free time. The most oppressive of the summer heat has passed. Foliage often offers bonus scenic wonders. Airfares and lodging shed their seasonal premiums.
There’s a distinct rhythm that results in browsing through the PHOTOS app. Castles, mountains, beaches, hoodoos, oceans, indigenous costumes and other surprises bloat up the September and October collections. The rest of the years are pretty much pictures of our dog.
I do the same thing. Having taught intermittently for many years, I always consider September as the beginning of the year.