A Slow Fade To Fall

The signs have been subtle but plentiful for those who take notice.  The lengthening of a midday shadow.  The constant whine of grasshoppers lurking in the long grasses of a road ditch.  The smell of a cornfield ripening.  Sumac leaves abandoning their summer green long before the maples or aspen do the same.  Seen alone each is nothing more than a natural phenomenon - the collective a natural symphony announcing the arrival of fall on the heels of another summer fading to memory.

Fall arrived like it always does for me with the closing of the Koochiching County Fair in my hometown of Northome, MN.  The Fair always precedes the first week of fall sports practices in Minnesota, so growing up it always felt like The Fair was summer's last hurrah.  This year was no different as my daughters headed home from The Fair on August 13 so they could be at volleyball practice at 8:00 a.m. on the 14th.  It's as if August is broken into stages for fall's arrival; the first two weeks are summery enough to fool us into believing summer won't end, the next two weeks put us on edge with earlier sunsets and busier schedules.  The end, or the beginning of the end....or the start of the beginning.....or maybe it's the end of the finish.....whatever one may call it arrives tomorrow.

In six hours my alarm clock will kill whatever life was left in summer, launching me out of my bed and back into my life as a teacher.  The first day of back-to-school teacher workshops, the first day of having to get up instead of just getting up, the first day of living life like an adult again.  It's a bipolar day - the sorrow of another long vacation ending mixed with the anticipation of the greatest months of the year just ahead.  The melancholy of being sucked back into the rigidity of a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday cycle sweetened with the activities that will be packed into those days - the volleyball games, the hunting trips, the leaf watching.  Fall is a glorious time of year, thankfully, and is like a natural elixir for the pain of re-entering the working world.

I was surprised to see my last post was on the last day of school back in May or June or whenever that was.  I knew I hadn't written much over the summer...didn't realize I hadn't written at all.  Gonna try to write more this year - currently have a goal of writing something every day.  So as I say farewell to another summer and get ready to open up another school year I also feel like I return to something I've abandoned for many, many months - this blog.  And its readers.  I hope you've enjoyed your summer and created some memories that will keep you warm on the chilly nights ahead.  I look forward to sharing a memorable fall with you.