September: the true start of a new year

The air is crispy clean, the sky is blue, the kids are back to school, and, except for the FIOS guy rattling around with snaking wires, the house is quiet. After a weekend mix of relaxing, end-of-summer fun and just-in-time room painting, clothes and school-supply organization, I am struck with that reminiscent September feeling: This is a new year.

Rosh Hashanah is two days away, so clearly that is not news to many people. September, with and without kids, has always felt like the true start of a new year. The last days of summer kindly slow down as people take their vacations and kids get their last licks of late nights and no-homework days. It is this time of year, more than January, when it seems even more right to start fresh, take stock, and make to-do lists and some changes where needed.

Just like buying new, colorful binders and fresh pens and pencils lessens the sting of the start of school for my teens, getting organized, making plans, and making my own goals for the year takes away a bit of the sad sting of another summer gone for me. It is all going so very fast.

So on this sunny September morning, I vow to :

... keep our family calendar up to date. For real.
... take time to exercise, every day. That's right. Every day.
... plan dinner before the words "What's for...." come out of one of my kid's mouths
... weed and tend my fall garden before winter
... do a better job keeping in touch with friends and family

That's a start.

What's on your September "new year" list of things to do?

[Image: Thinkstock]