I’ve been a bad blogger. There is nothing that irritates me more than a blog without active content. Part of the hold up has been my sadness over the end of summer. I know; not another blog post about summer ending. But it’s true. I’ve had thoughts of back to school (even though it’s been a long time since I’ve been in school); visions of new notebooks and winter clothes. I’ve longed for a few weeks where I can just lounge on the beach and read a book but this summer had a different focus than summers before for me.

I can remember when I was young, the big back-to-school event was the trip my mother and grandmother would take me on to get my new lunchbox at Two Guys. If you lived in the Northeast, specifically Hoboken (right outside NYC), you would recognize the name of this variety store. Think of it like Target, 30 years ago. It had everything from clothes to food and every summer, as August neared to a close, my mother and my grandmother would take me there to buy a new lunchbox. I remember the care with which I picked it out, paying special attention to the character or the design on the front. I remember that was when lunchboxes had a thermos inside and when you opened the thermos, it was lined with a metallic-like substance. (who knows what that was?) I was always so happy to get a lunchbox, more so because it was a special trip we’d make together but it gave me a little anticipation for the beginning of the school year and eased the sadness just a little for the end of the summer.

I also was hugely obsessed with school supplies. Notebooks, pens, colored pencils, markers, highlighters; I bought them all. My fingers itched at the idea of writing in a new notebook. The idea of that also eased my transition from summer to fall.

But there is always a bit of sadness when summer ends. I could see it in the faces of kids when I went to Staples the other day (their version of Two Guys). Still wearing their summer shorts and t shirts (it was 95 degrees on Sept 1, after all), still sporting their tans from hours spent on the beach, riding waves and making sandcastles. Looking a bit stunned as their parents did the responsible thing by making sure they were prepared for that big first day. I remember when I was a kid, while we spent a few weeks here and there at the beach, we primarily spent our summers playing running bases, hide and go seek and just basically hung outside with our neighborhood friends catching fireflies and riding bikes. We didn’t have Facebook or cell phones… we didn’t have DVDs or DVR’s. We wouldn’t dream of spending any time in front of a computer (our house didn’t have one anyway). We ran around outside until we were so dirty and it was too dark to see. We had sleepovers and made forts, put up tents and climbed trees. These were not times where we worried about what we ate, how we’d do in school or if we’d have the right electronic device on hand to do our homework. They were pretty simple times and lest you think I’m speaking of a long time ago, I’m only talking about 30 years ago. I don’t know; maybe that is a long time but it certainly doesn’t seem like so long ago, considering how far we’ve come or gone, from childhoods like those.

With fall comes the promise of a new chance, kind of like how we feel on January 1. The change of seasons, the ending of a seasonal chapter in our lives can at times feel like a chance to turn over a new leaf. The bustle of back to school seems like a good time to capitalize on the momentum of the beginning of the month to plant the seeds of a new intention.

So, in the beginning of this new season, close your eyes and think of something new you’d like to achieve. Or, think of something you’ve wanted to achieve but you need a sense of renewed faith that it will happen. Take this Labor Day weekend, and use it as a time to restore your faith that your dreams will come true. Take the time to nurture yourself, eat well, ease up on the pressure to “do it all” and spend time with good friends and family. Read a book. Do something in nature. Take in a movie. Go to a museum. Visit a new city or local town. Spend time with animals. Fly a kite. Go to the beach. Cook a healthy meal. Give someone a hug. Give lots of hugs.

September is here and with it, the close of the summer but with it comes a sense of renewed faith that if your heart is in the right place, the right things will happen.

I wish you all a wonderful Labor Day weekend and wish you much success in the final months of 2010.