Milestones, musings, nature, Photography

Good-bye August, Hello September

34 Comments

Summer is in its last three weeks and autumn is on the doorstep, shifting from one foot to the other as it awaits its turn. I always find this time of year to be a turning point, not just seasonally but in so many other ways, as well. In the northern hemisphere, the slower pace of summer comes to a halt as students return to school and many people either recommence work after holidays or resume a more regular work tempo.

A nearby beach.

Personally, I am transitioning as well and will retire in two months. Normally I would be back in the north (an impossibility right now regardless, since most people have been evacuated due to the forest fires), firing on all cylinders and pushing the pace, but not this August. My career-driven life of many, many years is slowing down, and although I am considering some contract work, I feel both strange and elated.

Lush summer trees.

Strange because all this is different … and elated because all this is different. There’s the slow good-bye, the considerations of what comes next … many things to which I’ve been looking forward. Still, I feel a bit contradictory: like I should be much busier than I am, even though I don’t need to be and don’t want to be. It might take a little time to regroup and become this new life.

Late-summer anemones.

Like it is for everything and everyone else in the northern hemisphere right now, autumn is on my doorstep. It’s both a beautiful time and a sad time, but it’s also my time.

34 thoughts on “Good-bye August, Hello September”

  1. There is an inherent wistfulness in autumn. I adore it, but also realize it’s a time of change, visually, and in your case this year, lifestyle-wise. We adapt, but sometimes not as smoothly as one might hope. Two months to retirement? You go girl!

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    1. Thank you very much, Ally. I’m definitely looking forward to retirement, but yes, there’s the same wistfulness that I feel about summer’s end, too. I’m doing (or have done) so many things probably for the last time. A very strange feeling but also a welcome one.

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      1. It’s SEPTEMBER SONG, sung by Ella Fitzgerald. It’s considered a “standard,” was the hit song in the 1938 show KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY starring Walter Huston, and has been recorded many times over the years.

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  3. Autumn is a time of happiness and sadness all at the same time. The end of one thing and the beginning of the next. How fitting it is the same with your working life. I recall similar feelings just 9 short years ago. My career change to retired was the best promotion I ever worked for and I find myself further and further away form the complex career I had. Wishing you a smooth transition Lynette. Allan

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    1. Thank you very much, Allan. It feels very odd at times – I feel like I should be busy but then realise that I don’t need to be and certainly don’t want to be. It’s a bit like after all these years I’ve become sort of automated (or maybe a bit Pavlovian!). I love that you’ve always said that retirement was your best promotion, and in that spirit, I’m looking forward to exploring this new job. Cheers.

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      1. I know people do not like losing the identity their job created for them, but it was so much better when I became Allan, instead of Manager, Retail Real Estate, Prairie Region. The job was what I did, not who I was. 🤗

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        1. I agree, Allan. Right now I’m defined by my work title but that’s changing too as I move more and more of my responsibilities over to my replacement. Feels pretty good to drop those and lose the suit. As you say, your job isn’t you.

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  4. This is beautiful and moving, Lynette. You will have a transition and an adjustment, but I know you’ll do well. Blessings to you in this new season of your life.

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    1. Thank you very much, Lori. I do feel for the most part pretty confident- there’s always that little bit of second-guessing which to me is my built-in safety check – and am looking forward to this (as Allan, above, calls it) promotion. Cheers.

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  5. I am still trying (unsuccessfully) to think of autumn as a happy time. Yes, there it is the harvest and there are warm sunny days, wonderful smells in the air, mushrooms to pick, and all sorts of great things happening, but there are also signs all around me that shrubs and trees and other plants are shutting down, going to seed and dying. Birds are frantically trying to buildup their strength to endure the winter or get out. It’s “Time for a Cool Change.” When I see that first maple leaf falling to the ground, I can’t help thinking it is so sad. But it all depends on your point of view and your attitude. Some people love the idea of the fishing and hunting and gathering time being here. I know I have to try to focus more on what is good about autumn, and there really is a lot, not the least of which is the easing of the heat waves. Sorry to go on so long. So much to say.

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    1. I agree, Anneli. There are so many good things about autumn but reason for those good things is that winter is coming, which is always a downer.
      But since I’m spending my first winter in 7 years in a warmer part of the country, I’m quite chuffed. No -40C or -45 with a stiff frozen parka and having to melt the frost off my eyelashes when I come in! Still, it’s a mixed bag.

      Autumn is so defined and reminds us of our own mortality too, I think. With my retirement coming up, I’m reminded as well of how I’m slowing down too.
      Don’t worry about going on; no apologies necessary. I enjoyed reading about your feelings around it. Cheers.

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      1. You’re so right, Lynette. It’s all a matter of perspective. I’m going to try to look for the good things about fall and enjoy that. Forget about all the sad stuff about leaves falling. We have to make the best of what we’re given. Have a great weekend.

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  6. I agree that autumn is a time for a new beginning, a transition of sorts, and with your upcoming retirement you’ll be making a major one. I can relate to your hesitation and feeling strange about the big switch. I retired 18 months ago, and felt lost at first, but quickly adjusted. I wish you all the best and lovely, peaceful days as you ease into your new life autumn.

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    1. Thank you very much for your good wishes. 🙂 It’s a bit of an odd contradiction, isn’t it? On one hand I feel driven to be busy, but on the other I’m so glad I’m not (my replacement is taking on more and more of my responsibilities and in a week or two I’ll be more like a consultant to the end of Oct).
      Glad to hear that you adjusted quickly; I think that I will too as I’m actually looking forward to it. Cheers. 🙂

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  7. I can’t recommend retirement enough! It’s a transition, true, but giving you space for really doing what you feel called to do with the rest of your life.

    And yes, I’m looking forward to easing of heat – and it’s not been a hot summer here in New England!

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    1. Thank you very much. 🙂 You sound like Allan (above) who describes retirement as the “best promotion” he ever earned. I very much like how you have described the process as “really doing what [I] feel called to do with the rest of [my] life.” I hadn’t really thought of it in those terms before.

      I’m definitely looking forward to being much more in command of my time, and in particular, having the time to just read what I would like to read (I usually do a lot of reading for work but haven’t done much reading for pleasure for many years now) and go hiking when I would like.

      Yes, the easing of the heat will be a relief and for us particularly, the easing of forest fire smoke.

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  8. I think we all find change unsettling.Things feel a little off until we find our way. It’s also a time of discovery which can be pretty exciting. A season draws to a close and a new one begins 😊

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    1. Thank you very much for your kind and supportive comment. 🙂 I do know that I will find my way and things will come up of which I don’t have any inkling at present, but I need to be reminded of that, I find. So yes, it’s quite exciting in many ways. Cheers.

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  9. This is beautifully written, Lynette. Transitions, even good ones, can be challenging for different reasons. I’m sure you will find your pace, and find new routines and things to do, but I completely understand the emotion. Although my situation is different (I stayed at home for 20 years to raise our children and went back to work 8 years ago), transitioning from a busy household to an empty nest has been challenging for me too. Just like you say, I feel like I should be doing more even though I don’t have to any more.

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    1. Thank you very much, Barbara. You read lots of good writing, so your lovely compliment is appreciated. I agree that many transitions can be challenging, even if they’re positive. The years of regimen leave behind a sort of groove, the kind you find in a carpet after a piece of furniture has been sitting there for a long time. And when you realise that the piece is truly gone, you wonder what you’re going to do with the carpet or what other piece of furniture you can put there. Yes, you must have found it quite bittersweet to be an empty nester after 20 years. I agree that I’ll make the transition; it just seems so odd right now.

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    1. Yes, certainly. The seasonal changes used to be very locally driven and depended on the lag in temperature changes and other indicators. Lammas Day, a traditional English holiday, celebrated the beginning of harvest on August 1. I think it’s still celebrated in some areas. The diversity in dates and interpretations is interesting. Cheers.

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  11. The fall is my favourite time of the year. Glad to hear that your transition into retirement is going well, even if it does feel a bit strange. I imagine it will take some time to get into a new routine. Change can be tough, but it’s what you make of it.

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    1. Thank you very much, Linda. Autumn is such a beautiful time although I’ve noticed some heat-stressed trees whose leaves aren’t turning at all – they’re just drying up and falling off. Our colours might not be great this time.

      It will definitely take a bit of time to complete the transition so that it feels less strange, and yes, change is what you make of it and how you incorporate it. Cheers.

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