HELLO, SEPTEMBER!

 Up here in my neighborhood--and surrounding counties--school has started, and some students have been in classrooms (really and truly present in body) for three weeks or maybe more.

So! School's in session, it's time for a quiz! Ready? Get your pencils and paper out. You have as long as you need to finish. Go!

• name 3 things you love to do in September
• name 3 things you'd rather not have to do in September
• list 3 places you like to go in September
• list 3 places (if money were no object and travel was cheap and easy) you'd like to visit this month
• what are 3 foods you associate with September?
• find 3 objects that define September for you
• if you're a crafter, make something that's definitely about September
• if you're not a crafter, find a picture of something that looks like September
• take a September walk and identify 3 trees that haven't lost their leaves or flowers that are still blooming
• what colors do you associate with September? 

[Some of these won't get done on your quiz paper, so make notes for crafting and a walk.]

That's it! When you finish, fold your paper in half lengthwise, write your name on the outside, and put it away some place safe. Take it out and look at it some day.

-----

This is my favorite kind of quiz--there are no wrong answers! There's no letter grade! No competition! And--sorry to say--no prize from me. But that's a good thing, too. Because you gave yourself the gift of finding good things in a new month, things you might not have remembered without a prompt or two.

-----

September in my town means classic car festival over the Labor Day weekend (and beyond). Then the county fair at the end of the month, when the weather is sometimes so wet and cold that folks huddle in their down jackets as they promenade the midway.

For me, September was, and always will be, the start of school. So I try to learn something new each year, beginning in the fall. This year it's new techniques in painting watercolors. I'm an eternal beginner in the art, and love every minute of it.

-----

If you forgot to change your calendar to a new month, do that now. Study the picture (if you have a calendar with a new pic each month)--note the special dates (we have 3 birthdays in our family)--and look forward to good things to come.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

•