Day One Hundred Thirty One

September

(The month of September pushes some buttons for me. I have written and deleted this post a few times. I decided to italicize those parts where I go a bit off the rails. Feel free to skip over them if they offend you.)

I had to delete my first post because it went to some dark places, and I have made two promises: One - Keep it about animals and Two - Be upbeat, if not funny. I guess September was the trigger. It reminds me of the beginning of school, which took me back in time to my childhood, which was not the greatest. While some had a "June Cleaver " type mother, mine was more like a Meat Cleaver! Horrible woman! I'm talkin' a bona fide whack job.

(That's the point where I took a detour down a dark alley. And that's what the delete button is for.)

Anyway, I have always loved the month of September. I was a nerdy kid who got excited when school started. Also, I was really happy to get out of the house! Back in the day, school did not begin in the middle of August, but right after Labor Day. September in Pennsylvania meant cooler weather was around the corner. Not that it got hot in PA, but the weather became crisp. I couldn't wait for the leaves to change. And, best of all, football was starting up. Achhhh!! Football! - slowly I turned; inch by inch...

Okay. I am going to get it together here and try to forget the (@#$%) Steelers and Mother and carry on. I can do this...Damn you, September!

Here in Florida, the only change between August and September is the picture on the fridge calendar. Oh, in a few weeks, a tree I have yet to identify, will change its leaves from green to yellow to bright red. I have made sure my native Floridian grandkids notice those changes. Other than that, there are no discernible signs Fall is approaching. Of all the things I miss about Pennsylvania, I guess the change of seasons is at the top of the list. I certainly don't miss the crazy old lady who made my life a living hell!!!

Maybe I'm supposed to write about how nobody feared stray dogs back then. Well, if a dog was foaming at the mouth, like in To Kill a Mockingbird or Old Yeller, you ran like hell and prayed it didn't run faster. But for the most part, stray dogs were friendly. Maybe they were friendly because they were free. You know when something is caged or penned in, it freaks out when it's finally loose - like how I used to put on my plastic high heels and pack my pink suitcase and run away, starting when I was four ...I don't know.

Here's my message for today, September 1, 2015. Do not think for one moment children aren't affected by your words and actions. Positive ones can be great life lessons. Negative ones can leave scars that never fade and lead your child to have certain triggers, like a freaking month, that prevent them from being happy or write a coherent thought. (Gasp) 

Be the kind of person your family, friends and pets will weep over when you're gone. (Not look at you in your coffin thinking the undertaker did a fine job of making you look like the old sourpuss you were...) Leave them with happy memories of you. Put down the metaphorical iron (you had to have read my deleted post to get that reference) and play with your kids, friends, partner, pets. Unlike a certain mother I knew who had no idea where her toddler was - meanwhile, that toddler was down the street hitchhiking to get away!

Laugh - a lot. They won't remember the way you slaved for hours over a meal, but they will remember the laughter and conversations over the dinner table.
So, keep it simple.

And one last thing, pets pick up on your moods as well. They will be happy if you are. There - I squeezed animals in there as promised. Oh, yes, there was that reference to Old Yeller, but that made even boys cry...sorry. I'll do better when September is over and we get to October! It's gonna be a long month...

Four year old me