Come September

I can remember hearing adults refer to things that would happen when the kids returned to school as "Come September".  My mother would say "come September we'll get together for our morning coffee", or my dad would tell a customer on the phone "come September I'll be in your area at least once a week".  I never quite understood the magical month when school resumed as a gateway for all those adult activities; until I became an adult.  Those days of pre-school month frenzy are a distant memory now for this old "adult", but I did finally understand how life entered a new cycle with the beginning of each school year.  In retirement, our lives are no longer tied to the school year. This year, we planned a spring trip to be completed before the end of school, but it was more a recognition of hot summer weather's approach than the deluge of kids loosed on humanity. I had many projects planned and our return from that spring trip was to be my gateway to busy times.  I had a number of sewing projects, a revision of the usage for two of our bedrooms, establishment of a consistent exercise routine, all in preparation for those cooler autumn days.  Several weekend excursions were planned and of course the usual preventive care visits with physicians, dentists and vision specialists would be completed before fall. Have I mentioned that I lost my summer.  Well at least my functional self was lost all summer.  A fractured leg and mangled toes will hamper mobility severely!  Ok, that's all history now and the reference to "come September" has arrived like a giant looming snowball. Three quilts must be completed before year's end, assistance with making a fourth one with an ambitious fellow for his mother. All those medical visits were postponed in lieu of more urgent foot repair, physical therapy and stretching conditioning practice. 

In March, I agreed to make my first wedding cake in roughly fifteen years..."come September"! Whaaaat was I thinking? I'm thinking now! This simple cake embellished with fresh flowers will consist of nine two-layer tiers, red velvet and white cake tiers.  The grooms cake (of course, we must have a groom's cake) will be chocolate cheesecake.  It will be an outdoor wedding, garden theme, since the weather will be cooler "come September".  It was 100 degrees in our little town today, the wedding is five days away.  The garden setting is smack in the middle of a hill-country working farm.  A lovely live-oak grotto will provide scant shade (if you know about live oaks, you understand) for the flower covered arched alter.  The dinner reception and dance will take place just behind the seating area where fairy lights will be strung around the perimeter.  I think it will be beautiful and I look forward to seeing this lovely girl marry the fun quirky young man that stole her heart. Preparation of the cake is NOT what concerns me, getting the beast to the venue (did I just call it a "beast"?) is my worry.  Hill country rural roads are steeply sloped and winding.  I no longer have my van with the level floor for transporting, nor do I own the array of boxing supplies and large sturdy plates that support a cake to feed 250 people.  I cannot stake the tiers together for travel and anticipate their arrival without a bit of lean or even side tilting.  The entire thing will need to be assembled with dowels and stakes on site.  Weather is predicted to be in the mid eighties...the same as the past weekend...we had two days in the high nineties, and it's going up.  I am meeting the florist prior to the service for set-up.  I gingerly expressed slight concern about flying things that might be attracted to a sugary confection sunning in open air.  I offered a canopy and some netting to put over it as protection, but no takers.  I pray that we don't find ourselves hosting a hummingbird convention...fresh colorful flowers and a huge mountain of sugary fluff...can anyone see where this could go?  Furthermore, I am a guest for this (dress code-semi formal) affair. Son's house is closer to the site than our home, so I will complete my task and then attempt to make my (probably sweaty) self presentable for the festivities.  Oh and there is that issue of my lame foot.  It is still inhospitable to a closed toe shoe, and I am sporting three toenails that look like they belong to the homeless lady under the bridge.  I would beg help from Dancing Girl, but "come September, she will be in her long planned meeting in Los Angeles. I am on my own, friends...to get this cake in place, make myself worthy of attending the fun times, then arrive on time.