Back to the Job!

September marks the traditional return to work for the Women's Institute members. There will be many new plans and projects, and a lot of shared happenings over the summer recess. Members are delighted to see each other again, and eager to find out what projects and other plans will take up their thoughts and time in the coming months.

Projects that were left incomplete in June will be revisited. With Christmas less than 4 full months away plans will be developed for Christmas donations to worthy community families or singles who will need some assistance to make their Christmases the happy times they remember.

But first things first. School starts in September and that takes up members time! It sometimes seems like Mom is on the run all the time! But as the days go by, the children are back into their routines, the garden is harvested, and if you are a farm wife, whether it is a grain farm or works with animals, the deadlines come and go, and life, and the Women's Institutes, carry on!

I miss the clearly defined seasons that life on the farm provides. Harvesting is definitely over when the snow flies late in October.  Seeding starts when the conditions are right – and it doesn't matter what the calendar says!  The next generation of livestock arrives on their agenda no matter what the calendar or weatherman say! And yes, the weather is another factor that retirement brings relief from following! Come to think of it, day to day living after having lived on the farm gets a little boring --- few plans are changed because of the weather, in fact, rain is welcomed, since it can bring relief from yard chores!

But enough of my musing. September is a month when we start slipping toward the cooler seasons and the fireside becomes more welcoming. We women have more free time, and the Women's Institute is there to provide us with something to do that is beneficial to ourselves, and very often to the communities in which we live. Each one of us, through the efforts we make in our separate communities adds something to the life of someone else or another family, and for that we should be grateful.

However the seasons influence your life, may they be positive influences, and may you make many happy memories as the days cool and the leaves start to fall.

In closing:

Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable--

             - the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street by a gusty wind

      - and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese   

–         - Hal Borland

 Happy September!

 Ruth Fenner, Provincial Historian, British Columbia Women's Institute