SEASONAL LIVING AT ARCADIAN REVIVAL

Apple season. Dried flowers and planting bulbs. The Great Geauga County Fair. Back to school. Mornings wearing tweed blazers while reading books outside with the absence of the summer heat. A shift from the lazy days of sunshine and porch lounging into a new rhythm filled with excitement and energy to gear up and dive back into what we perhaps haven’t focused during the few months prior. Taking inventory of what materials I’ve grown from my garden that might serve me in the weeks ahead. A month that would otherwise fill with the taste of bittersweetness if it weren’t for everything else that it brings along with it.

September has always meant an opportunity to learn and to connect with community through school. Even as an adult, I get filled with wonder as I consider what new opportunity I might have to learn something new, or to connect with others. I love academia for these reasons, and am always looking for ways to get back into a classroom.

As we’ve recently started school with our daughter, September afternoons now mean a return to after-school snacks, little backpacks hanging in the mudroom above little boots and jackets…questions about their day, who they interacted with, what they learned…

Despite the giddy nature I find myself in annually regarding the start of the school year, I’ve always loved one last summer hurrah. And in my case that final kiss to summer often happened in Ohio at the Great Geauga County Fair. One of the oldest in the country, my childhood delivers a sense of nostalgia through the event that transcends today. Adorned with historic buildings that display agricultural achievements, antiques, flowers, baked goods, honey bees, artwork, and so much more, this one is special. Even today in New York with our own kids, we often manage to time a visit accordingly. And I’m so glad that I did because last September I twirled my daughter in the cool grass to the tune of big band music from the Great Geauga County Fair band in her floral sundress, and it was end of the summer perfection.