The full New England Hunter’s Moon is setting over the hill west of the house this early autumn morning. The hill itself is dressed in peak colors of scarlet and orange, yellows of birch and maple. Frost has come. The extremes of the four seasons here are so in tune with the extremes of the nine-year-old I’ve been watching navigate the transition from unbridled summer to bridled school-year and home routines.

Speaking of transitions and routines–they’re like hands in gloves, so necessary these chilly fall mornings and so essential for the nine-year-old. Without them, Isaiah falls apart:

Any school night
“Mom, I think I left my homework at school!”

“No, Isaiah, it’s in the car.”

“Will you get it? It’s dark outside.” [Another hallmark of nine]

“Turn on the outside light.”

Any Saturday morning
“Isaiah, it’s time for soccer; get your stuff,” says Coach Dad.

“I can’t find my pads [or socks, cleats, shorts, etc.]”

“Let’s go–we’re going to be late!”

Putting the soccer stuff out Friday night and having the homework bin clearly marked and filled upon return home are just two little routines that give nines something comforting to complain about and a one- or two-word reminder for parents to use: “BIN,” they can say, as in “SOCCER BIN” or “HOMEWORK BIN.”

Speaking of extremes, Isaiah shows many this October: Extremely shy about picking up the telephone and calling friends to invite over, though he loves having friends over. Extremely embarrassed about anything lovey-dovey. Extremely embarrassed by a classmate’s look before school pictures, so much so that he threw on his old sweatshirt for safety’s sake, thinking the shirt he’d worn had been judged un-cool. Extremely determined to avoid work around the house, while desperately wanting to earn money for desperately desired, extremely needed whatevers. Extremely loving toward his younger sister or extremely jealous of attention she might be getting. There seem to be few in-betweens, few even periods these days. Maybe it’s the full moon. Maybe it’s the full moon of being fully nine!