Summer's End Means it's Time to Gear Up for Fall

It's Labor Day weekend, the end of summer. When I was young, we didn't go back to school until the Tuesday after Labor Day. We did have to go into the second week in June, but summer still began on Memorial Day weekend. That was when all the shops opened in Cape May, N.J. My parents opened the house that weekend or the weekend before Memorial Day, so we officially started summer days then. The last two weeks of school were much in the learning department anyway.

On Labor Day weekend, we would go the beach one final time. Then, we would close up the house for the fall and winter. Although autumn in Cape May was nice, we had too many activities to do during the school year that we rarely went down there. We also had season tickets to the Eagles games, so weekends were booked. Having one last holiday weekend before the craziness of back to school was pleasant. It allowed us to get ready for the school year refreshed. We weren't thinking about how hot it was. Septembers in Pennsylvania were warm in the daytime and cool at night, but they weren't super hot, so school was not hot. My elementary school had two buildings, one for the younger kids and one for the older kids. The building for younger kids did not have air conditioning. The other building did and my high school did also.

Today, though, kids have to go back to school during the heat of the summer, also known as the Dog Days of Summer. It must be hard for kids to concentrate when they would rather swim in a pool or on the beach. It is a shame they have to start the craziness so early. They do get the holiday break, but I don't think it has the same lazy feeling as it did when I was a kid. It's more of a day off, rather than the end of one time and beginning of a new season.

That brings up what I wanted to discuss today, a new season. Labor Day ushers in the mindset of fall. We begin a new season, the third quarter of the year. The lazy, hazy days of summer are gone. Because everything is starting -- school, organization calendars, Congress, etc. -- you should be thinking about restarting your marketing. It is time to plan your editorial calendar for 2026; time to get Christmas sales; time to reassess what worked in 2025; and time to put your mindset on finishing strong. Everything gets busier in September. Keep your pace throughout the fall even when November hits and we have a million holidays plus church events. Then, you will win.

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