Wind Of Change...

Tonight is First Day of School Eve. It's hard to believe that summer, for our neighborhood children, is all but over. Tomorrow the local schools open the doors to the rearranged, motivationally decorated, Elmer glue smelling, newly waxed floor classrooms to nervous yet anxious and excited students donning their new hair cuts, summer tans, new clothes and gym shoes carrying stiff book bags loaded with back to school supplies that out weigh the average size first grader. Parents will be creating breakfasts fit for a king, having posters or personal size chalk boards creatively written and decorated with the various "grades" little Logan or Alexis (the names Johnny and Suzy are too outdated lol) will be entering for the photo shoot taken at the front door while waiting for The Big Cheese to pick them up. Never before used lunch boxes will be filled with favorite snacks and drinks and possibly a little "Happy First Day of School" love note from mom and/or dad. But more importantly, some tears may be shed, not from the little darlings headed back to school, but from parents who have waited for this day like a pregnant woman who is 5 days overdue. But, there is also that parent who will be shedding a more bittersweet tear knowing that this is the final year they will be shopping for back to school supplies for their "not so little baby".

I am the parent that doesn't have school age children anymore. I can honestly say that I miss it, too. But I only miss this part. I mean, just the part about the first day of school. The first day of school has a certain "special" smell to it. Like Christmas has the smell of pine and Halloween has the smell of wet leaves, the first day of school has a smell, too! It's like a mix of cool air and warm humid air, mixed with a slight breeze of cut grass and a hint of crayons and glue. I think Yankee Candle should create that scent!

Yes, this is my "small" collection of Yankee tarts and the basket cannot fall below 3 tarts. Bill's cousin introduced me to them back in the early 90s. She used to work for Yankee and the one time she and her family came to stay with us she brought a tart warmer and some tarts as a gift. She showed me how to mix the tarts in various ways instead of just burning one scent at a time. I have been hooked ever since. I've tried other brands and for whatever reason, I always go back to Yankee. This "back to school" feeling gets me so excited because Yankee has stocked their shelves with all the autumn 'flavors!' I am trying to burn off the summer 'flavors', but I've been good about not rushing. We've been spoiled with cool evenings here recently so it's been easy to get enthusiastic about autumn. Being that it's almost time to harvest tree fruit, I will burn a Macintosh Apple tart as a tease to both Bill and myself!

We've noticed that as of late, we have hawks patrolling our back yard more so than usual. The cooler weather has changed a lot of animal behavior. My aunt once told me, "...we don't pay enough attention to nature, and we should. The Indians depended on animal behavior and the sign of trees changing to prepare them for their seasons." Have you noticed the leaves changing early like I have? It's August and our trees have shed a lot of leaves. Even our garden has died down. I noticed a lot of activity for "collecting" from these little guys as well. He was too busy that he didn't have time to care about me standing there!

I really do believe there's a "happiness" in the air right now. Season change brings a sense of newness and preparation. We find ourselves looking over our wardrobes, wondering what will fit this fall and winter. Some of us start to look over new recipes for soups and casseroles and other belly warming dishes. Those that preserve and can foods will be finishing up the last of their harvest before you know it and planting spring flowering bulbs. Others will be doing simple yard tasks, getting chimneys cleaned, putting away summer lawn chairs and closing down their pools. And we do this because we can "smell" the change in the air. We're not quite as good as the animals at recognizing a "bad winter" versus a "mild winter" per say, but we have our own sense of change.

For those who refuse to believe that change is on the way, I give you this little guy. He was singing like it was the first of spring and was happy the sun was shining and the feeders were full. Don't be deceived though, I can smell the wind of change!!

To all of you sending off your children to school tomorrow or soon, I wish everyone a fun yet hard working and memorable school year. For my friends heading back to their educational roles, I wish you patience, success, and a fun filled 10 months as well :)

#endofsummer #housesmell #YankeeCandle #hawks #animalbehavior #birds #backyard