Finish Strong

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

-- Green Day ("Wake Me Up When September Ends")

I'm glad September is over. It's not like everything about the month was bad. It just ended on a rough note (insert *sigh* here). And I'm ready to move on.

I let Carter "I'm a Sox fan 'cause Griffey's on the team" stay up past bedtime last night to watch the Twins-White Sox game. At least one of us went to bed happy. He says, "Mom, now you can cheer for the White Sox in the playoffs." I said, "No way. That would be like cheering for the Packers. I'll be happy to support the Brewers, though."

Beyond sports, Carter and I have a new goal for October. We've got to get this reading thing down. Because he raced through his book this weekend and Monday night, he didn't retain a lot of the facts in the story. So, needless to say, he didn't do well on his test yesterday. I mean really not well. And then, when I found it was multiple choice, I said, "We've got a problem here. We've got to do something different going forward."

We talked about a game plan for getting the reading done at a realistic pace -- and without distractions -- so he can absorb the information. We're only one month into the school year, so there is still plenty of time to make up for the first two reading tests.

New month, new attitude, right?

I spent much of September on a big project for work that must be off my desk by the end of this week. It will be such a relief to be done and going back to my regular job duties ... if I can recall what they are!

In our work world, October also marks the start of the fourth quarter, where we have to make up for lost revenue, failed initiatives and the like from the first three quarters of the year. So the challenge sits before us to finish strong -- make it an overall successful year we are proud to put on the record books.

Does this mean it's not too late to do this in our personal lives, too? I don't see why not. We can refocus on our goals to make up for "failed initiatives" (read: weight loss), while remembering to celebrate the successes in the areas we've performed well (read: marriage and motherhood).

New month, new attitude, right? I say let's flip the calendar page and get going!