Gift of Transitions

Welcome to September!

September has always been one of my favorite months. Living in North Dakota, we know that when we flip the calendar over to this new month, we are transitioning out of summer and into autumn. Days will glow with golden sunshine that no longer feels as warm as it did a month ago. Nights are already cooler and sunsets noticeably earlier. We’ll start to see the leaves turn colors, some quietly slipping into muted yellows while others will burst with bright splashes of oranges and reds. 
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Kids are back in school, and the excitement of a new school year hasn’t yet worn off. Teachers and students are still getting to know each other while kids reconnect with friends they may have missed over the summer months. A new school year means new learnings and different adventures. For some kids, this is the year they start kindergarten, leaving behind a sheltered, small circle, and entering a new chapter that will reshape their lives.

I remember, many years ago, sitting alone in my Toyota mini-van after dropping our son at kindergarten for the very first time. I sobbed, knowing he wasn’t the only one entering a new phase in life. This past month, we faced another set of significant changes for our family. Our middle daughter moved more than a thousand miles from home for grad school, and our youngest is now nearly settled in her new dorm room, about to embark on her college career.
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Move in day at college

​And that little boy that smiled and waved at me from his kindergarten classroom, nearly twenty years ago? He’s now married, and his wife recently started her first full-time teaching job at a local school. Isn’t it funny how life can circle around?

As we leave the noisy, exciting, busy days of summer behind, our focus can shift back to other things. Maybe now we’ll find the time to meet up with friends for a relaxing visit over a cup of coffee. And if that coffee is flavored with pumpkin spice or dark chocolate and whipped cream, even better. We’ll talk about our fun summer vacations, perhaps share some photographs and funny stories.

Depending on where we are at in regards to our life transitions, we’ll seek advice from or offer advice to friends. But we’ll be reminded we are not alone. There are always others that have already weathered the same transitions, and they are there to help us if it all feels overwhelming.

Change is hard, but it can be invigorating, too, if we’re careful to approach it with as much enthusiasm as we can.

September is a transitional month, and there are so many things I love about it. Summer flowers, now tired and leggy, will be replaced with gorgeous mums, bursting with vivid splashes of gold, orange, and plum. Last year, I finally learned how to care for these finicky plants and was rewarded with big, brilliant flowers that lasted until temperatures fell and stubbornly stayed below zero. I’m excited to go out and buy new mum plants next week.

We’ll pull out our warm, cozy sweaters and curl up under blankets with a good book and a cup of something warm and tasty to drink.

Later this month, fat orange pumpkins will begin to appear, adding more glorious color to our doorsteps.

Friday nights will herald in high-school football games under the lights. Pep bands will fire up the crowds with school songs and renditions of old favorites. Scoreboards will keep track of touchdowns, and indicate winners and losers when the buzzer sounds, but everyone can feel like a winner on a chilly night spent at a football field, enjoying competition and popcorn.

The arrival of fall serves as a reminder that we still have a full four months of the year left to accomplish those big goals we set for ourselves back in January. Sometimes summer can distract us, but now is when we realize we still have time to accomplish big things before the holidays.

Personally, I’m at the beginning of a transition I’ve dreaded for years. We are one week into our journey of being empty-nesters. I’ll be honest. The first week has been tough. Walking by the kids’ neat and tidy bedrooms, I’m reminded that they are off at the start of their own big, new adventures. Which is great, of course, but it’s also awfully quiet in the house. Gone are the piles of shoes by the back door. I was so tempted when I walked in the door after work last Tuesday to dump the basket of shoes out, so it looked like we weren’t the only ones home!

It will take some getting used to. We won’t need as many groceries, and the laundry room won’t be quite so messy. But I’m already feeling glimmers of excitement, too. We’ll have more time to explore new things. To work harder on our dreams that may have become a little dusty while we raised the kids. We’ll travel more. I’ll have more time to focus on my writing, including three trips I’ve already booked to attend in-person author conferences. I’m so excited!

The novels I write all revolve around people facing times of transition. Life continues to provide me with plenty of story ideas!

I’ve even decided on another home improvement project already.

Not too long ago, I converted a seldom used spare bedroom in the basement into an office. I filled it with things I love—a cast-off old door turned desk, sparkly mirrors to line the walls, and lots of other treasures to make the space my own. But I have more treasures I haven’t been able to use yet. With all the kids gone, the other large room in the basement that has been a craft/catchall room through the years will soon become a continuation of my office. I’ll paint the walls, cover the floors with pretty rugs, and maybe even splurge on a comfy chair with the birthday money I’ve been tucking away for something special. I’ll hang old windows from the ceiling, and finally figure out a use for this amazing old piece that used to be part of a vintage roll top desk. I picked it up for ten bucks years ago, hoping to someday put it to good use.

I won’t have to settle for a tiny she-shed in the backyard. I’m going to have a whole she-floor!

I’ll be sure to share pictures when I get to all of that.

Change is a necessary part of life. It adds spice to our days, opens us up to new paths to explore and places to see. Like the turning of the leaves, some transitions will inevitably leave us feeling like the color has been leached out of us, our energy drained. But other periods of change will feel energizing, bringing forth a burst of brilliant color.
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Near the cabin

​I hope that you find ways to make the transitions you face in this season of your life some of the best times of your life. Remember, you get to write the chapters of your own story. If you don’t like a new plot twist, figure out a way to make it work for you. And always aim for that happy ending!   Kim