I get excited this time of year. Always have.
It starts on a specific though unpredictable day each August when midday shadows suddenly become a bit softer. It’s very subtle, but I notice it every year. The season is changing.
Now that I mention it, you’ll notice it, too.
September anticipates the serene melancholy of fall. Squirrels get busy stocking up for winter—we all do. We pull out the summer clothes from our closets and fluff up our long-sleeved flannel. We look at the mess in the garage and think about paring it all down.
Where are those Christmas lights? I need to find them.
Looking forward to what comes next is natural whether we’re thinking about next weekend, the holidays, or a spring vacation we’re planning. But as I get older, now that I’m paying attention, I’ve started anticipating each new tomorrow and discovering small things I’ve always seen but never really noticed.
Anticipation is what makes life worth living. Best of all, it’s personal. As my dear friend and blogging partner Anita Garner so eloquently put it:
“Anticipation is the only thing I can control. It’s the looking-forward-to part of life and I get to decide when it starts and what it means.”
That sentence is what inspired my thoughts here and many more. If we have your attention, read Anita’s wonderful perspective here: