Changing seasons

I have felt for many years that like the Jews we should celebrate New Year in September. It is the month when schools are opening for a new term, the summer weather and holidays are behind us and we settle into new fall schedules. The garden is beginning to look bare and even the trees are dropping a few leaves. The birds are gathering with all their friends and relations for the long trek south for the winter season.
Today Joyce Bupp's column in the Lancaster Farming took the words out of my mouth on the subject of changing seasons and the "September" New Year.
My Resolution #1- Get back in the exercise program and practise more portion control at the table.
#2- Clean out the attic. It got dusty, dirty and disorganized while Karen's attic room was taking shape this year. Although it seemed like an impossible task , it did not go away.
So I started this week. My attic is not one of these "under the eaves" cubby holes. It has space under the eaves, but there is a "room" in the middle. At this point Karen has one side of the attic. That leaves the whole west end of the attic for my things... that means a lot of space to collect "stuff". Our collection is no match for the Landis Valley Museum. This was the week to discard some of the historic items up there.
Why do we need the huge Dell box that the computer was packed in when it was new? The computer specialitst told me last week that my PC is bordering on antiquity. We won't be needing that box to return components that are under warranty.
My favorite Farmer keeps a pair of old shoes for a spare when his work shoes need repair. But three "hole in the toes" pairs of shoes? He chose the "best" of the worn out pairs and fed the rest to the outdoor furnace.
Then there was the baby crib that has not been used for 25 years. I kept it hoping to have space to set it up for visiting grandchildren. We never had the space and the youngest grandchild (at this point) is heading for his 4th birthday. Besides, it is out-of-code and illegal to sell. When we are great-grandparents, we may too feeble to babysit anyway. See what I mean about changing seasons. Even life has it's seasons. We made room for a crib in our bedroom for most of 20 years. But that season is past and the crib is reduced to ashes.
I have not yet tackled the box of Christmas decorations. Then there is the box of empty boxes that are saved for sending a package to our son's family who live along the Pacific or for gift boxes at Christmas. I think some of them should go the way of all flesh too.
Some of the boxes hold letters from another season in life. Maybe I should read all the letters from my long ago North Carolina penpal and return them to her for her posterity.
Marvin remembers the winter day when his Dad built a little barn for him from orange crate lumber complete with a little barn hill. No one has used it for 50 years, but it is there and will remain for a start on our Landis Family Museum.
Then there is the stash of family genealogy books that did not get sold. Hah! that family has a reunion coming up...maybe we can give them away for prizes.
We don't need the plastic gallon jars that were saved to send veggies to a distant mission. Since we have less garden and less energy, I suppose that season is over. And then there was the big box of plastic milk jugs and several boxes of glass vingar jugs saved to make cider...and we have no more apple trees?
There is little monetary value in the things in our attic. The wall paper hanging tools might get used again some day. The bag of poly fill and muslim fabric scraps might turn into Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls someday.
And the other fabric scraps just might get used for comfort or quilt tops...... if God allows yet another season of life.