• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chandler's Ford Today

  • Home
  • About
    • About Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research
  • Blog
    • Blogging Tips
  • Event
    • Upcoming Events
  • Community
    • Groups
    • Churches
    • Schools
    • GP Surgeries
    • Leisure
    • Library
    • Charities
    • Eastleigh Basics Bank
    • Community Food Larder at Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Site Policies
You are here: Home / Community / As One Season Ends…

As One Season Ends…

August 30, 2019 By Allison Symes 3 Comments

Do you feel sad as the summer ends? The answer to that will depend a lot, I think, on whether or not you have school age children about to go back to school after the summer break!

I was always annoyed as a kid and later as a parent, to see the Back to School signs appear in the shops just before the children had even broken up for the holidays. As a kid, I hated being reminded. As a parent, I hated being nagged. (Still do, in fact! That approach has never worked on me!).

The signs for this get earlier each year though possibly not early enough for some parents - Pixabay
The signs for this get earlier each year though possibly not early enough for some parents – Pixabay

The Joys of the Seasons

I approach the end of the summer with mixed feelings. Yes, I love summer, it’s a great opportunity for getting out and about (especially to my favourite writing events), but I am also fond of autumn. I adore the changing colours of the crisp leaves (even when I’m busy raking up the ones from my oak trees. It does make for a great workout and I make good use of the Council Garden Waste Service on the leaves alone!).

Temperature wise, I prefer the cooler autumn. I’ve never taken to heat well.

As one season comes to an end, do you look ahead to the ones to come - Pixabay
As one season comes to an end, do you look ahead to the ones to come – Pixabay

In winter, I like seeing the silhouettes of the trees. There’s a beauty in that which is easily overlooked I think. Plus there’s the joy of curling up with a good book when the weather’s rotten outside and you and the dog are just happy to stay indoors for the rest of the day! (You can always tell when the weather is really bad when even the dog is reluctant to go out).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I also enjoy looking out for the first snowdrop appearing, the winter jasmine emerging and so on. Even in the depths of winter, there is life about. Okay a lot of it is dormant but it is still there.

Also without winter, there is no spring. Perhaps that is the easiest season to like given there is so much new life and new growth around. (Mind, hayfever sufferers who are afflicted by tree pollen in particular might have something to say about that).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I like to make the best of each season then (though I like a good grumble about the weather as much as anyone I admit).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Seasons in Life

What about seasons in life then? Do I take the same approach there?

Generally, yes. It is all about making the best of things and improving what you can. There are things I know I can’t change and wish I could. For example, if I could wish up a cure for cancer, dementia etc, I’d do it, as I know we all would. So what can be done there? Support those who are working towards these things as much as you can.

A lovely forest view - Pixabay
A lovely forest view – Pixabay

Am I sorry I’m not in the first flush of youth any more? Frankly, no. There are things I would rather not go through again, having experienced them. I engage more with people now (usually via my writing, directly and online) far more than I ever did when I was in my teens/early twenties.

Also, as a writer, now I’m “mature”, (a description generally best saved for a good cheese or fine wine!), I have more experiences of life I can fictionalise if I want to or draw on for use in creating my characters. You have more ideas about what makes people tick and you can use all of that for creating your fictional people with their ways and habits etc.

What I associate with summer - Pixabay
What I associate with summer – Pixabay

Using Time Well

I think there is more awareness of the need to use time well the older you get and to disregard what isn’t that important in the overall scheme of things. I’ve never had time for soap operas or political discussion shows. I’ve never understood why people can be so engrossed in them. My lack of understanding or time for these things isn’t going to change any time soon and I have no regrets there.

In a sense your mind should always be under construction as you develop in life - Pixabay
In a sense your mind should always be under construction as you develop in life – Pixabay

There are things about getting older that can be awful, obviously, but the general principle of making the most of and appreciating the good things is a sound one. Does that mean we should never seek to improve things? Of course not. (And one major area of change I would wish to see addressed better is the issue of funding proper care for people, especially for those with dementia and their families).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Are Seasons in Life Age Related Anyway?

I would also say seasons in life aren’t necessarily based on age.

There is a season for being a student (but the lovely thing with that one is you can come back to it again later in life). There is a season for developing as a person, whether that means taking up a new hobby which enriches your life and may lead to other things. The nice thing with that one is that development can be slow, fast or continual.

I remain convinced when mankind strives (either individually or collectively) we are at our best. Think of the efforts and achievements in the world of medicine for example. Striving for cures for diseases has to be continual while we should celebrate the good things here that have happened. And all credit to Edward Jenner for his pioneering vaccine work. Someone has to be the pioneer. Given they nearly always take flack for doing this, their persistence should be given credit too.

How many lives have vaccinations saved - Pixabay
How many lives have vaccinations saved – Pixabay

There is a season to stop and take stock of where you are and assess where you would like to go next. Indeed, this should be a regular one!

I am of the age when my grandparents and their generation took it as read that when you retired, you stopped. I am glad that attitude is generally no longer true. Keeping active, whether it is physically, mentally or both, has to be good for health.

Always good advice this - Pixabay
Always good advice this – Pixabay

I’m not yet at retirement age but want to have as active a one as possible for as long as possible. (Owning a dog will help a lot there!).

Whatever your current season in life is, I hope it is a positive one!

Related Posts:-

Controlling the Weather

Moments That Matter

Behind the Scenes

What You Value Most

Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.

Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.

Never miss out on another blog post. Subscribe here:

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email

Related posts:

Tags: as one season ends, autumn, seasons, seasons in life, spring, summer, winter

About Allison Symes

I'm a published flash fiction and short story writer, as well as a blogger. My fiction work has appeared in anthologies from Cafelit and Bridge House Publishing.

My first flash fiction collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again, was published by Chapeltown Books in 2017.

My follow-up, Tripping the Flash Fantastic, was published by Chapeltown Books in 2020.

I adore the works of many authors but my favourites are Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett.

I like to describe my fiction as fairytales with bite.

I also write for Writers' Narrative magazine and am one of their editors. I am a freelance editor separately and have had many short stories published online and in anthologies.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mike Sedgwick says

    August 30, 2019 at 9:18 pm

    As time goes by there are things I am so pleased I did but even happier that I will never have to do them again. Like nights under canvas when it is raining; like buying a burger and having to eat it (happy to eat a homemade one); like riding a bike uphill and like having to go back to boarding school after the holidays.
    Then there are things I would like to do but Nanny Society will not let me. I would have like to work as a doctor for longer; I would like to dive into a swimming pool; I would like to hire a car on holiday.
    Without age, you cannot have grandchildren and they are, without doubt, the greatest of pleasures. We have seven so far and we are not sure that is the lot.

    Reply
  2. Allison Symes says

    August 31, 2019 at 9:08 am

    Totally agree with you about being under canvas, Mike. Gave that up decades ago! Yes, there are blessings as you get older. We just need to be able to appreciate them.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. As One Season Ends… – Allison Symes: Collected Works says:
    August 30, 2019 at 9:48 pm

    […] part of my CFT post this week, As One Season Ends, I look at how getting older has helped me as a writer. I prefer to use the term mature, though I […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Chandler's Ford Today blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Top Posts & Pages

Why Write Fiction

Categories

Tags

am writing arts and crafts books Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford Today Chandler’s Ford community charity Christianity Christmas church community creative writing culture Eastleigh Eastleigh Borough Council education entertainment event family fundraising gardening gardening tips good neighbours Hiltingbury Hiltingbury Road history hobby how-to Joan Adamson Joan Adelaide Goater local businesses local interest memory Methodist Church music nature news reading review social storytelling theatre travel Winchester Road writing

Recent Comments

  • C. Klingler on Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear and Other Mondegreens
  • Robbie Sprague on VE Day – Thursday 8th May 1945
  • Mike Sedgwick on VE Day – Thursday 8th May 1945
  • Chippy on VE Day – Thursday 8th May 1945
  • Allison Symes on Review – The Chameleons – Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor
  • Janet Williams on Review – The Chameleons – Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor

Regular Writers and Contributors

Janet Williams Allison Symes Mike Sedgwick Rick Goater Doug Clews chippy minton Martin Napier Roger White Andy Vining Gopi Chandroth Nicola Slade Wellie Roger Clark Ray Fishman Hazel Bateman SO53 News

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

Reviews of local performances and places

Reviews of local performances and places

Copyright © 2025 Chandler's Ford Today. WordPress. Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.