Growing up, I always remembered September as a month of transitions: back to school, football season, plaid skirts, crisp autumn leaves, and the excitement and opportunities of my new life. It was almost a do-over. Wasn't last year so...last year? September is for new clothes, new books, new beginnings, and my friends.
Friends who, if not new, certainly looked different. I always felt a thrill of excitement that was neck-and-neck with uncertainty. A girl who had always been chubby somehow returns from a summer hiatus BAM! a Babe! and is drawing stares from...everywhere. The geeky guy we used to take turns tripping as he did his best to dash out of the locker room after gym class today pulls into the parking lot to start his senior year. He is in a cherry Mustang convertible. With a cheerleader. And he has a five o'clock shadow at 8:00 a.m. Will it ever be my turn?
I told myself, anything is possible.
Fast forward: I continued to grow up reasonably OK, with no more or less pain or angst than any of my friends or the guys in the next cubicle. The years pile up, the years go by. But there have always been the moments that have caught me off guard, both surprising me with their insistent pulls on my heart, and startling me with the swift powers that take me back...to that guy I didn't think I was, and thought I did not want to be, but who is in me always.
What makes for this emotional display? Nothing. Or anything. Our minds hold fast to life-marking events that our conscious self suppresses. It can be a song, a smell, a picture...shoot, it can be crisp autumn leaves.
We all have these memories. I guess they are known as 'bittersweet' memories. After we are grown, they mock us, yet sustain us, I believe.
There is a class in Carol Stream Illinois that graduated this year, in 2007. They are the friends of my nephew, Jonathan D. Petit. Jon sparks countless memories of a perpetual smile, a ready friend, an honorable teammate.
Jon actually experienced his own transition. In some minds he may have been the guy they would like to be after he slimmed down and buffed up in a big way. Forever I will happy for Jon for that. His efforts spanned years. It was profound to me, and was (excuse the cliche) an inspiration that a kid could and did:
A. Drag himself out of bed before dawn
B. Jog and jog and jog, eventually adding ankle weights
C. Develop his own eating habits
D. Become an inspiration to his friends in GBN High's "House of Pain".
Jon left us unexpectedly, on a warm June night. There will always be our lives viewed as before and after Jon Petit. We were never ready to say good-bye.
And, I do believe this class of 2007 will always remember Jon Petit. They will be 30, 45, 70 years on this planet, yet...a song, a flash of a smile, a scent, a comment. Jon will be there.
Jon's birthday is September 2, 2007. He would be 19. And Green Day was one of Jon's favorite bands. So, wake me up, when September ends.
K Petit
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