September sun

There’s something about sunshine in September that makes you that little bit more grateful and gets you racing to head outdoors. In fact I remember when my sister got married on the 10th October in 2010 and it felt like the hottest day of the year - in October! Instead of the lazy hazy days of summer where juggling school holidays, adventures and work seem to halt our impromptu outings, the start of the change in the seasons makes me become a stereotypical Brit, discuss nothing but the weather and desperate to hold onto sandals and summer dresses. To make the most of those golden hours. 

School routines have brought back shouty morning memories, me clapping at them like a mother hen hurrying her chicks to get dressed and out of the door and we start each day in a muddle. We've tried getting up earlier, we lay the clothes out the night before but everything has become a battle before 8am, unless Granny is stopping over and my feral school boys are replaced with golden angels.

Sammy has careered off into Year 3 and lower school and hasn't looked back. He has a sports bag almost as big as him, and I can hear his voice changing. More eloquent in just a couple of weeks back at school. My timelines and feeds that were full of school uniforms, happy toothy grins have slowly drifted back to cat videos, (I'm more of a dog person myself but the one where they eat ice cream - hilarious) celebrity gossip and even a few Christmas countdowns - umm no way jose - I am still living in a white dress. I loved every little and large nervous excited face and every status bursting with pride. 

Because I loved how positive the internet was, everyone wanting to share those precious milestone moments. Babies to big kids.

September is like starting the year all over again, a month to unsettle summer habits and a month to settle back in again. We are all trying to work out what our roles are and where are jobs are going, boys testing boundaries as their confidence grows in relation to the size of the playground they now hare around in, on the cusp of something bigger for Rich maybe, if the wind stays blowing in the same direction. 

We are just trying to work hard and be nice. And sometimes it takes longer to get somewhere that way. 

You can feel that slight dip in the temperature as the sun sets signalling the cooler winds of autumn are riding the airwaves but on a bright day, when the golden rays are blasting down onto our faces, I forget that we are not in a mid July daze. 

I've felt better about myself, felt happier with a glow.

We Heaths are not ready to pack up the flip flops just yet. 

Weekends are back to being being pepper potted with school parties, reading books and housework but on the sunniest of Saturdays we headed off from home with the dogs in search of a corn field we’d spied the week before. The boys had been talking about this incredible maze with “storks taller than you Mama” and when we found it we peeked through the rows before heading to a grassy spot in the garden for a picnic. Luckily the local farmers all know us as it's a small village and no one gave a second look as we hopped the gate for a nose. 

It’s like they were chasing the light. I could hear giggles and rustling as they hurried past me to catch up with each other. When you run through a field you realise why children love it so much. You just can’t help but scream like an excitable 5 year old and we watched as they disappeared into the green. 

I made a promise to the boys last year to try and play as much as possible over this summer and we’ve had the time of our lives. An absolute whale of a time. Little moments like these are what they remember. Bonus weekends. Simple pleasures like a surprise picnic with all their favourite things to eat bursting from the basket. 

We sat, we ate, we tried not to let the dogs hoover up all the salami and sausages and we packed the leftovers back into our hamper, to save for after school snacks. And I know we are not the only ones who appreciate those unexpected sunny days. I love seeing other families, sharing their photos, making the most of this borrowed time before we are all cooped up, hiding from the drizzle.

September be glorious for us, show us the summer’s last hurrah!

This isn't really a sponsored post but I wanted to say thank you to Joules for a lovely surprise birthday gift and these outfits. We've lived in them!