So, here it is Labor Day Weekend — the cultural (if not official) end of summer. Back-to-School time — the cultural (if not official) beginning of the year for families.
And here I am in this kind of summer/autumn limbo because I am entirely (and probably officially) out of the Back-to-School loop. No one in my household is going “back to school” — last year was the first time in my entire life that that was the case (my older sisters were already school-age when I was born and I was still in college when my first 2 daughters were born — I was on the 6-year plan! — and then my kids have been in school for the past, oh, almost 30 years). So, this is only my 2nd non-school year in (ok, you can probably do the math…) 50 years. No wonder it feels a bit odd.
I was one of those really geeky kids who always loved school. And even for my kids (who were less geeky) going back to school was exciting. College was even more exciting, of course. Our last “back to school” event was sending our son off to grad school in London! Quite a ways from peechee folders and 8-pack markers. But the concept is the same.
Now, I have grandchildren going to school, but it is a step removed for me (esp. because they live across the country!) in that it does not affect my daily life. Nope. Tuesday after Labor Day will be just like the Tuesday before Labor Day for me.
Okay, I can get a little nostalgic about Back-to-School. But it is kinda nice not to have all the rush and rigamarole now. To be able to just sort of slide peacefully into September without changing my sleep schedule, without carpools and paperwork and lists of supplies & equipment (o, where was amazon prime when my kids were young?!), without homework schedules and game calendars and “the letter of the week.”
But I still feel a bit disoriented. I mean, it is not really summer anymore (except officially) and it doesn’t feel like fall yet. So, what I really want to say is:
What am I supposed to be knitting?!
A sensible woman would be knitting beautiful autumnal socks now — but how can I think about socks when my feet cannot imagine wearing anything but sandals? I do have my fall scarf — but it is too warm to wear even my summer scarf. So how do I get motivated to knit a wool scarf?
I am thinking I should focus on my baby knitting — which is all bright pink — while the weather holds. Once fall really does show up, I know I will be besotted with fall colors — and there is no way bright pink is going to convince me it is a fall color, no matter what the fashion designers try to put over on us. So, best to keep momentum up on the baby stuff now. Tho, truth to tell, as the due date approaches, I may not be able to think about any knitting except the baby knitting!
The really brilliant part of this Labor Day limbo is that I can keep myself plugging away on my almost-done summer projects. Hey, it is still warm and sunny — so the Blues Inversion Cardigan and the Beachy Q’mitl still feel fresh and (most important) relevant. Without Back-to-School, early September is like the end of August. It is like a bonus 2 weeks for summer knitting!
So, if you are looking for me next week, I will probably be out on the back deck wearing white and knitting summer blue lace 😉