This time of year is a season of transition. Hot weather turns chillier (this week notwithstanding). The morning commute gets busier with buses and parents taking their children back to school. Sports seasons morph from baseball, surfing and swimming to football, cross country and soccer. Our wardrobes shift from shorts and T-shirts to pants and jackets. The easy living of summer gives way to the stress and pressure of a daily routine. At this time of year, it seems our lives resume again after a 10-week respite. Gone are the seemingly carefree days of summer, and here again is the grind as we approach another winter.

But, even as sunlight diminishes day by day, there are still many bright spots. September is one of the best months of the year. The tourists are mostly gone; warm, sunny weekends are still in norm, and the humidity of summer is replaced with crisper, fresh air. If you have last-minute projects around the house, or one or two last visits to state parks to cross off the to-do list before cold-weather activities begin, September is the time to get them done.

The biggest transition at this time of year has to be the resumption of school, and all that surrounds it. Students, teachers, administrators, staff and school bus drivers get back to full-time duty. Early morning dashes to the bus and homerooms test even the most disciplined of teens, who’d rather sleep in. Late afternoons are consumed by extra-curricular activities, nights with homework.

This year, with Labor Day so late, we praise those districts that held off until Sept. 8 to summon the kids. Starting after Labor Day was a tradition not that long ago, and there’s something unsettling about getting back to class prior to the big weekend that brings summer to its ceremonial end. The late onset of Labor Day seemed to give us all an extra weekend of summer to enjoy, which we appreciated.

Now, as Old Man Winter walks steadily toward us wearing his big, white, fluffy coat, it’s good to remember that winter isn’t as bad as it seems. Snow and ice also provide their own sporting fun. To be sure, snowmobilers and skiers think winter is the best season of all. The cold also seems to provide an excuse to stay home baking and cooking new recipes.

But we’ve got a long way to go until those frigid days reappear. First there’s apple harvest, Octoberfests, Halloween parties, scenic fall foliage drives, hikes in the mountains and, of course, agricultural fairs with all their good food and contests.

In other words, we’re in transition. And transitions can be difficult. But they can be exhilarating in their own way, trying to find the good in what’s new. Yes, we’ll miss those easy-living summer pastimes but hey, remember how you had to swat all those bugs during that picnic supper down at Pine Point? Or remember how the tourist traffic was backed up for miles along Route 302? How about that big thunderstorm that blew through when you were on the 15th hole? You had to play the last three holes soaking wet, and hated every minute of it. Summer is fun, but it’s not perfect.

While fall brings with it full schedules to keep, and real life seems to take over once again, there’s plenty of fun to be had. And, we can also hope that Old Man Winter is easy on us this year.

-John Balentine, managing editor