The feeling of fall

I know we didn't really have a summer, except for a week or so, but I can feel the encrouching presence of fall. The leaves started dropping from the weeping mulberry bush in my front yard and the impending single digit temperatures at the night confirm this suspicion.

Of course, the kids head back to school within the next couple of weeks. I don't know if it's ingrained in me from my own childhood and my decades of returning to school in September, but the fall has always been a time of new beginning for me. A time to be more productive, start something new or refresh an attitude.

I think it's all those years of new school supplies. I had a sharp new pencil and an unmarked notebook, so the possibilities for success in the upcoming school year were endless.

I feel I've dedicated the past five months (with a sixth to come) of my life fighting cancer. During this time, I've learned a lot about myself and the disease, read numerous books, reconnected with people and expanded my writing through this blog. While I haven't felt very productive, it hasn't been time wasted.

When I've recovered from my last chemotherapy session, I can concentrate on moving forward. But because the kids are heading back to school and I'm tired of the cancer fight, I'm anxious to start now.

I'm ready to grasp the freshly-sharpened pencil and crack open that unmarked notebook, because the possibilities are endless.

Tina