September was the most hated of all months when I was growing up. My brief span of freedom came to its end. The month was so dreaded, the very mention of it made me cringe in July. By August, just the thought of it gave me night terrors. There wasn't a child conceived who loathed school and everything it entailed more than I did! The teachers were tantamount to jailers. And the other kids were little gangsters as far as I was concerned. To say I didn't fit in was an understatement. And worse, I didn't want to! Once back in the gulag, it seemed forever until the holidays rolled around.
Now that I'm old, it seems that after the calendar hits September, the holidays come and go fast. Plus I LOVE it when the kids are back in school!!! The neighborhood is far more serene. Also I don't have to worry about my mailbox until the weekends. But the month is dreaded for another reason.
September is when we are the most likely to be struck by hurricanes! And the double zero decade was certainly an unusually active one! It really put the fear into me. Those were miserable times and the memories remain vivid.
I feel the new year should begin in September, rather than January. Because everything seems to change so dramatically after Labor Day. Everything feels different, like a brand new year!
Summer is the "naked season" for me. I close the blinds and strip myself bare to save on electric bills. Technically, September is still part of Summer until the 22nd of the month.
During rare Septembers we get our first taste of cool air after seemingly endless hellishly hot & humid days. But I can remember many a year when I wore my Summer clothes (tee hee) straight through Christmas. The tourists and the snowbirds may love the warmth, but I hate it! I need a nip in the air to feel alive. Florida is probably the wrong state for me.
Growing up, I remember the temperatures being quite different. Halloween night was almost always chilly. By Thanksgiving, we were all in heavy long sleeves or sweaters. And by Christmas, we never went outdoors without a coat! This changed around the time I got up into my 30's. Native Floridians started to take note and remark about the warming cycle we had entered.
I love the holidays. But it's hard to get into the spirit when you're sweating in the heat. In recent years we did have some prolonged cold, but that came after New Year's.
My favorite time is that period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I enjoy that festive feeling and hopefully cooler air, too! However, after you reach adulthood, Christmas Day itself becomes an anti-climax. It's little more than just a big meal.
New Year's is always a sad holiday to me. Perhaps because it means all the big holidays are over for another year. I never celebrate the new year. It's more of a reflective time.
That brings us to my birthday in January, which I always celebrate, even if I'm alone. At my age, I'm starting to wonder how many birthdays I actually have left. In a way I'm kind of glad my time is growing short. I don't like the direction the world is headed.
By February, people are bellowing, "Summer is right around the corner!" Which makes me want to high-five them with a brick to the head. Because I want it to stay Winter! I've never tolerated heat well. And the older I get, the less I can stand it.
Summer, once my most cherished season, now is my least favorite. As far as I'm concerned, it can't end fast enough!
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