Good morning and thanks for stopping by on this fine September Day!

Yes, the kids went back to school today and before long we'll be watching the green leaves turn to brown, digging out our comfy fall sweaters, and bidding a fond farewell to the waning days of summer.

I always feel somewhat nostalgic at this time of year. In fact, this day, more than any other ( including the actual holiday) has always felt like New Year's Day for me. It's almost as if the summer is a chance for us to let out the big breath we've been holding in all year and the end of it means breathing it all back in to begin the cycle of life again.

However you look at it though, the end of summer almost always marks at time when we all have to move forward in one way or another. For kids, it's moving on to a different grade, new teachers, and new friends. For teenagers, every year represents one more step out of the nest and closer to finding out if they'll sink or swim in the real world. For parents, depending on the age of their children, the end of summer means letting go to some degree...for some...it means letting go for good.

I so sympathize with parents who are faced with the most difficult stage of letting go and that would be watching their kids go off to college or university. If there is any barometer of the time passing, it would be shared with the first day of Kindergarten and the first time your child moves away from home.

 I still get emotional when I think about how hard it must have been for my mom who nevertheless put on a brave face when the last of my belongings were dropped off in Barrie almost 14 years ago. I was her baby, the youngest, and the last to leave home. She admitted to me years later that after she drove off waving happily to me standing in the driveway, she, knowing it would upset me,  waited until she had rounded the corner...pulled over to the side of the road and wept. How unseflish...how like my mom...

I have learned myself over the years that letting go, although painful, is the greatest gift you can give someone you love. It's also the most difficult gift to give and it sometimes requires us to dig down deeper than ever before.  I have also learned over time  that it's always easier to leave than to be left behind.

To those leaving and to those left behind...we'll see you on the exhale:)

Have a great day:)