On fall transitions after a quiet summer

This fall marks my 58th year of back-to-school transitions from summer. I started out with elementary, middle and high school. Then on to university and graduate school. After that, work as a professor since 1993. My plans are to continue for the next five years and probably, maybe, possibly retire in 2031. But we will see how things go. I like my job and feel good, for which I feel very fortunate.

Also, I can’t imagine what life will be like when I don’t have to pull myself away from the slower, more indulgent routines of summer in order to begin a schedule of class prep, teaching, and seasonal increase in email and admin. As much as I love summer, it’s always deeply satisfying to return to the pleasures of new syllabi, new students, and well-worn and reliable work routines. It’s a little like pulling out fall clothing– I am happy to get reacquainted with favorite sweaters and jackets that I temporarily forgot about during warmer weather.

For me, fall transitions have meant arranging my physical activity around my work schedule and the seasonal light changes. This year feels different, though.

For a while now, I’ve been less active than in previous years. I struggle with an anxious brain even when life is general is fine, and it’s not been fine lately. My mother is declining, and helping her is difficult and complicated and extremely stressful. My sister and I are working together, but it’s hard.

This summer, I found that I needed quiet for than anything else. Quiet for meditation. Quiet for reading. Quiet for just being. My activities have been lower key– walking and yoga, a little easy cycling, a little swimming, often with friends or family. I went for a meditation retreat where quiet was explicitly on the agenda.

I thought, given how much quiet I needed and wanted and lived in this summer, that transition to the much louder days of fall would be hard. I’m happy to say that I’m really loving September so far. Here are some highlights:

• Lily from my logic class loves plant cuttings, so I’m bring her some small jades this week. We talked for 20 minutes about our home plant communities, and I’m looking forward to more chat.
• Already, I’ve got students following me out of the building and to my car, continuing discussions about philosophy. I find this so endearing and sweet and also nice for me.
• I went to my friends Martin and Andrew’s 40th anniversary party in New York (I’m still here in the Big Apple, as it was last night). It was loud and fun and filled with friends and family and food and festiveness.
• Today I’m walking around New York, through Greenwich Village, a place not known for sedate quietude. I’m looking forward to stimulation for all my senses, and hopefully not too many impulse purchases.
• After Labor Day on Monday, I resume teaching on Tuesday, and start to settle into a fall routine. Which I actually love.

What does my activity look like for fall? Probably more of the same as I did in summer, although I’m looking forward to more cycling in cooler temperatures. I’ll go back to Friday night yoga classes with Norah and whoever else wants to come. Walks with friends and swimming (indoors, but that’s okay too) with friends and kids are always a pleasure. I’ll be traveling some to see my mother and helping her with what she needs and seeing my sister and kids and other family, too.

So life will be busy. And louder. And I’m glad.

Dear readers: what is your fall transition looking like? And how are you feeling about it? I’d love to hear from you.