This week I was thinking how much I’m grateful for, yet how heavy my heart is when I think of September. It’s my mother’s birthday and my son’s and so many friends, so the celebrations and love abound all around. Yet, September marks the loss of so many loved ones for myself, hubs, and so many out there in and after the year 2011.

Whether it’s a loved one’s birthday or their passing, September seems to bring it home so much more than any other month I know. My daddy died in the month of June and a dear friend in October, yet I don’t feel so gloomy in those months, or even in November on All Souls Day.

Perhaps, it’s the changing of the seasons. As hot as this summer was, fall is coming early this year. Already in September, we have had a cool front and the temperatures are considerably lower than in most recent years. Thus, everyone is now decorating early for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

With the anticipation of fall seasons and cooler temps, my creativity is nudging me to declutter and get more organized. So, I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect and remember those who have gone before and who I miss in ways only another loved one will understand.

Are you missing anyone lately? Did you lose them in September? Or another part of the year? If you are like me and have lost many loved ones over the years, have you found that being grateful for their lives and how they touched yours has helped you with the grief you feel?

My mother stopped celebrating her birthday on September 11 and started celebrating whenever she felt more inclined. Of course, she cannot always control that as the senior center she attends several times a week has a schedule to follow, and if that month’s celebration falls on her birthday, well, she celebrates it then. But the rest of us take her out on the weekend before or after.

Ultimately, I go with the flow when I am feeling something – whether it’s happy or sad. All emotions are fleeting, and the sadness seems to dissipate more quickly if I indulge it rather trying to run or hide from it. Doing that only prolongs the melancholoy, and who wants to encourage sadness? Of course, I’m grateful for all moods. I believe they teach us something about ourselves and the situation. The key is to remind ourselves to look at what we’re feeling and ask what it’s teaching us.

As I write this blog, I feel a sense of peace come over me. It feels good to reach the halfway mark of the month knowing there is half of it left to enjoy. In the first half of September, busy as it was, I got to see my granddaugther of which I am forever grateful. In the last half of the month, I will send my son a birthday card and looking forward to writing to him.

At this moment, I have a vision of more joy and creativity to come in the last half of September and the coming of fall. How about you? What do you see yourself spending the last half of September doing? My hope is that you enjoy quiet walks in the cooler temps, an old passion you didn’t even realize you’d forgotten, and valued time with someone special.

Love, hugs, and thankfulness always, Virg