Get Back!

Before I start I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! That's right - Happy New Year! And I would not be surprised if you found this greeting to be a little premature considering it is only early September- but read on and I will explain...

I have always thought of the fall and Labour Day in particular as more of a turning point in the year than what we traditionally call New Year's Eve. Think about it for a minute - summer puts everything on hold; life seems to be in a state of suspended animation for three months. School is out, people take holidays and go away or just power down and cope with the heat. We all function on automatic pilot or maintenance mode - anything important that has to be done can wait until fall... well guess what?

Fall is the time of year when we get back to being busy. There is a lot of work to do and the light is fading fast so no more lounging around in pools and sitting around in the shade sipping iced tea and beer. Take off those shades, pack that bathing suit away, put down those ice cream cones and let's get back to work!

Now is the time of year when most of our major holidays and cultural events still lie ahead of us - the real ones. All summer has to offer is Canada Day and that happens before summer even gets here. Once Labour Day arrives, we get back to school and college; we settle down and get back to our jobs again. Soon we will get back to giving thanks again and remembering again - something we don't do in idle summer.

We are Canadians - we are people of the north. We are not designed for hot weather that lasts more than a few days, let alone weeks or months! We are built for wearing lots of clothing and taking off a layer or two if it starts to warm up a little. Fall reminds us of that fact. And just as the Beatles sang long ago - it is time to "get back to where we once belonged."

Who is with me?