September Song

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Goodness....  it took me a full month to get back to this post, and complete it.  not what I'd  call the perfect autumn day, though I hope there will be some Indian summer before winter arrives.  Today, an early hint of winter with frost on the windshields and riverside park lands. And sprinkles of snow!  Though my skiing son in the Colorado mountains will probably be thrilled, I do not look forward to the difficulties of getting around in the steep hills of Galena.  So, in the meantime, back to September moments:

It is a perfect autumn morning.  Gentle sun, enough breeze to make the wind chimes sing and the golden leaves falling from the trees dance.  The cat has paused from her pursuit of chipmunks and is grooming herself on the lounge chair.  And I sip another cup of coffee before launching into the week.

Today ends September, and I wistfully recall the words of the old classic, "September Song."  It was my dad's showpiece--always a request at our family sing-alongside.  He did it well in his rich baritone.

It was a show tune, of course, written for a not so successful musical in the 1930s, Knickerbocker Holiday about New York City and Peter Stuyvesant.  It was a song about courting--a May-December relationship, and I expect that is how I thought of it when my dad sang.  In those days, life stretched out to what seemed an infinite horizon.

Today, it is deeper.  The metaphor of human life as seasons of the year has a new poignancy.  An urgent message.  I expect I am not alone in hearing it.  "...and the days grow short when you reach September....the days dwindle down to a precious few..."   Coming up upon a numerically insignificant birthday, but one beyond Medicare eligibility, is what gives the poignancy to the days dwindling down.  And, I mustn't forget the recent, sudden loss of a very good friend who was a vital presence in my life.  We had planned to spend a "girls'" weekend together before the end of summer. Before we could finalize the date, she was diagnosed with cancer and was gone in three weeks.  It reminded me that at this point in life, there will be many losses and transitions.  So...a renewed resolve to treasure these "precious, golden days."

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