So much is made of the approach of fall.  Rightly so, I think.  It's a refreshing time, a time when new routines are formed and we draw more toward home.  It's a time for the return of familiar flavors and scents and sights, even sounds.  We all have special moments we look forward to in autumn:  spotting that first brilliant orange leaf on a tree in your own front yard; biting into the perfect apple from a local orchard; that wonderful dusky purple that edges the sunset; lighting candles of an evening; pulling on a sweater and snuggling in.

September is difficult, though, because as much as we want it to be fall, it just isn't yet.  All the back-to-school promotions and decorations in classrooms would lead you to believe it should be, but the temperature is still quite warm and there's nothing yet of the tell-tale crispness in the air.  So, before you let September get by you for wishing it was something it's not, I suggest you make a list of things to relish about it and make a point of celebrating each one.  Before long, you'll realize the dream of autumn's arrival; just don't miss the transitional time between.  It holds its own sorts of delights.

My September relishes include:  the first home football game that requires me to wear a jacket and allows me to comfortably drink a hot chocolate from concessions; buying a new nail polish or lipstick in something brown or burgundy or russet; and baking zucchini bread.

What do you relish about September?