In Sarah Ban Breathnach's book "Simple Abundance" she gives us suggestions each month for ways in which to enjoy the month. Here are a few of Sarah's Joyful Simplicities for September:
🌻 L' été c'est fini, as the French say, so end summer on a high note. Make a really big deal out of the last cookout of the summer. Serve your favorite summer recipes with a final flourish. Linger in the twilight, watch the sun go down, and bid summer a fond adieu.
🌻 On Labor Day weekend take 15 minutes to write down all the things you wanted to do over the summer but never got around to. Put your list in an envelope. When you get your next year's calendar, paperclip the envelope to the first day of June and open it then. Try to block in some time on your calendar to make postponed pleasures a priority when summer returns.
🌻 Celebrate the autumn equinox (22nd) with a festive dinner of homestyle cooking. Do this especially if you live alone and rarely cook a descent meal for yourself. Bring home a small pot of mums for your dining table. Draw hearthside and light the candles, pour the wine or cider, and enjoy the simple pleasure of comfort food. Have you ever tried an English "fidget pie," a traditional harvest meal? It's composed of potatoes, onions, apples, and ham pieces in a vegetable stock seasoned with a little brown sugar, salt and paper. Pour into a pastry shell, cover with a top crust and bake as you would any filled pie.
🌻 Observe the autumnal festival of Michaelmas (29th), which is the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel. This ancient English harvest festival dates back to the sixth century. Legend has it that on this day the devil was driven out of Heaven by St. Michael and landed in a patch of blackberry brambles. It's traditional to have blackberry treats--pies, tarts, or jam on scones for tea on this day.
🌻 Start making your Christmas list this month so that you won't be frantic in December.
🌻 Take a walk under the huntress moon (16th).
I always buy potted mums in September for my porch then plant them in the garden before winter. . . .
Sarah writes, "Since ancient times, September has been viewed as the beginning of the new year, a time for reflection and resolution....... It seems to me that January resolutions are about will; September resolutions are about authentic wants." Sarah asks this question:
What do you want more or less of in your life, so that you can love the life you're leading?When my children started school September became the beginning of my year. It's been hard to break the habit even though it's been seven years since my last child went off to college for his final year in September. I always felt bittersweet this time of year. I was glad to see the worst of the heat and humidity come to an end, but sad to no longer have my sons about, even as I was glad to have more time to myself. This time to myself allowed me to reflect on my life. Making new resolutions would always come out of it.
September is also special for me because it's my husband's birthday month. We spent a wonderful week on Martha's Vineyard in 2012 for his birthday. We stayed in a carriage house that had a small garden behind it where I'd write in my journal each morning before we went off to explore more of the island. You can read about it on Morning Musings starting with this Post and clicking on the next one for a total of eight more . . . .
And September is the month Gabriel came into my life in 2008. . . .
What about you? What does September represent to you? Do you have certain rituals or celebrations like Sarah suggests? Special memories?
How would you answer Sarah's question?
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Take Joy!
