Close to Nowhere

Thirty days hath September, April, May and November

All the rest have 31, except for February.

And in 2020 those all add up to 5,285 days.

September sometimes turns into a maudlin month for me. I love fall, but September just has too many sad days.

Pop's birthday is September 17. He would have been 69 this year. Somehow, that's not as old as it used to be. My favorite cousin Carolyn's birthday is September 22. She would have been in her 70s. Wow! I'm so much younger than everyone else.

Carolyn's granddaughter Miranda got married on the 21st of September. That was the closest she could get to her birthday.

Oddly enough, youngest granddaughter Remy got married on September 16. That was the closest she could get to Pop's birthday.

My mom and dad got married on September 6, which was also my mom's birthday. My dad's birthday was September 8. My mom died on her 55th birthday, September 6, 1978. She was born, married and died all on the same date.

My niece Sister has a birthday in September also, the 26th. I remember so well the day she was born. I was 13. Sister arrived a little sooner than she was supposed to and was born at home with the ambulance arriving about the time she did. That was some kind of excitement in our family.

Sister has always been one of my favorite relatives. Her older brother Gene says she and I are just alike. Sister has a fascinating job ­ well to me anyway. She's the cook on a river barge that plies up and down the Mississippi River. She feeds 14 or so guys three meals a day plus whatever snacks, leftovers, etc. they want. Fortunately for her, she grew up in a large family and then had three kids of her own. Sometimes it seemed like there were at least 20 of us in either her kitchen or mine. Those were wonderful days.

Thanksgiving will be here soon and I look forward to it all of September (yes, I skip October). Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. In fact, the first turkey and dressing, etc. that Sister's kids had was at my house. For years, they spent Thanksgiving with her in-laws, who always had steak.

One year as a surprise, they drove past the exit to the in-laws' house and came on to mine. Johnny (Sister's ex-husband) and I had planned this out for months.

Thirty days hath September...except this year. We are now on the 1,879th day of September 2020.