September has somehow already been & gone in a flash and yet it’s actually had what’s felt like a relatively slow day-to-day pace, which I’m grateful for in comparison to the busy-ness of the summer months.
We eased quite gently into the new academic year – there was no big back to school transition, no ‘first day’ photos, and (thankfully) no last minute scramble to buy uniform or stationery. It’s been a somewhat staggered return to studies for all three of the girls as E had already headed back to uni in August, M didn’t move to her uni until mid-September, and L stepped into sixth form gradually at the start of the month, feeling mostly ok about starting two brand new subjects as part of her A Levels and definitely enjoying the increased freedom she now has compared to her high school timetable.
It’s felt necessarily quiet. We’ve mostly stayed at home at weekends (sunsets and cats have featured a lot on my phone camera roll!) and it’s been… good.
Here’s a little bit of life lately, from September…
The last photo of all of the girls together (taken in August before E went back to uni)
BOOKS
Last Christmas, a colleague of mine generously gifted me a beautiful copy of Anam Cara by John O’Donohue. My colleague is Irish, and Celtic culture often comes into our conversations, so it was a really thoughtful and meaningful offering to receive from her. Whenever I finished a book and looked on my shelves to choose the next title I wanted to read, I’d pick it up, flip through it, then opt for something else because it just didn’t feel ‘right’ in the moment. It has waited ever-so-patiently on my TBR pile for nine months now and, for reasons I can’t really explain, something about it felt different this time. Clearly, something was nudging me to try again. So, fancying dipping into something a bit different, and needing a little break from fiction, I committed to reading it.
It took me most of the month to get through. I admit I found it quite hard work to begin with – the blessings and prayers sprinkled throughout it aren’t really my thing – but once I got into a bit of a flow with it I found myself picking it up more and more often. It holds some really wonderful words of wisdom, and now also contains lots of underlinings and turned-down corners too, so something was definitely resonating with me. I really enjoyed learning more about Celtic spirituality, philosophy and folklore (as well as all the new words I had to look up the meanings of along the way). I’m glad I persevered with it – I found the chapters on work, aging and death particularly interesting.
As an antidote, my next choice was Heart The Lover by Lily King. I remember enjoying another of her books, ‘Writers and Lovers’, several years ago (although to be honest I don’t remember the characters or the storyline – my benchmarks for a ‘good’ book). This latest one has had such high praise that I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about.
I finished it in four days. I didn’t read the blurb before I started and had no idea where it was going to take me, but I wasn’t expecting that. It was love and death and friendship and grief and regrets and making amends and, well, it’s safe to say that it floored me. The quiet sentences, the little observations – those are the parts that will stay with me I think. One of those books which, after you close the cover at the end of the final page, you need sit in silence for several minutes to absorb it all.
The two books I read in September: ‘Anam Cara’ and ‘Heart The Lover’
FILMS & TV
In preparation for seeing the sequel at the cinema, we watched Practical Magic at home as I needed reminding of the storyline and characters – the last time I watched it was probably about 25 years ago. I’d forgotten just how much I liked it. Practical Magic 2 on the big screen was just as cheesy and predictable, feel-good and nostalgic. The perfect Autumn movie.
Lola and I have been very excited for the new series of Strictly and have established a little Saturday night tradition whereby we curl up on the armchair under a blanket and watch it together, just the two of us. It’s quickly becoming one of my favourite times of the week. We were a little apprehensive of the replacement hosts after Tessa and Claudia left the show, and so far we think they’re doing ok. There’s a good line-up of contestants and the new pros seem to be an interesting addition to the mix.
LIFE LATELY
We spent a weekend in York in the middle of the month to move M into her university accommodation. It’s always such a joy to be there, it’s such a beautiful city. It all went relatively smoothly and she is happy with her room, which she’s covered in posters and photographs and fairy lights. She spent a week on her own in her flat before her flatmates moved in, so I’m grateful that E is in the same city and was able to help & support her, and be her tour guide, as she got settled in. It’s such an enormous change and, so far (I think) she seems to be managing ok.
I will never, ever get bored of this view
Me and M in her uni room
As well as being a huge change for M, it’s been a big adjustment for us at home too. With her two sisters gone, L is effectively now an only child (temporarily of course). She is delighted to not have to share a bathroom any more, though I know she is missing having them around. It’s taken a while to get used to the quiet. We exchange messages almost daily, and there’s usually some kind of video call with one or the other or both of them once a week, but otherwise the house feels very empty.
It’s been an interesting transition, a threshold of sorts that’s bringing up thoughts along the lines of “what’s next?” with regards to work, home, location and more. Big questions that are currently unanswerable, but worth pondering even though there are probably a few years to go before any decisions need to be made.
I’m trying to take advantage of the time/space/quiet to write more. I recently shared a piece on my Substack (after a six month hiatus) about the importance of showing up. The link is here if you want to read it. If you enjoy it, you can subscribe for free and I might just love you forever – I’d like for my words to reach more people, just in case there’s anything in them that might help someone, somewhere, someday.
Chapter nine of 2026 is now closed and we’re three-quarters of the way through the year. L has begun the countdown to Christmas already, whilst I’m still trying to wrap my head around it being Autumn.
I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout September too, and that October is whatever you want and need it to be.
With love,
Chloe x
