It's 7:50 am. I have about a half hour before I leave for work. Dave has left for his. The kids are still sleeping in; not much more of that for this year.
The owls -- or an owl, at least -- have returned. Two long calls this morning when I walked the dog. They seemed to disappear for the heat of the summer; evidenced by the many sightings of both bunnies and snakes this year. It seems the rain has brought them back.
I have a short to-do list of last minute items for the girls. A couple things to buy, a couple to apply for, a couple to sign up for. We're waiting on delivery of some new electronics to go with one of them. All last week at home stuff.
I could get maudlin, but mostly I'm quiet. This is one of those becalmed moments in the midst of a hurricane of change.
I don't know for sure why I've always held that the year started in the fall. There's the obvious school connection. Plus I love fall, with the cool temperatures, the wind, and the leaves. It's always enervating. I don't like heat, and summers are not only hot, they're sluggish. Since I was somewhat isolated in my childhood summertimes, I never liked them much. Plus, fall means harvest.
Harvesting to me was always about finding the hidden treasures amongst the leaves. Ever seek out spiney cucumbers on the vine, or alien beanpods dangling down from their bushy hidey-holes? Red orbs of tomatoes deep within cage enclosures? Zucchini, and yellow squash hiding in the ditch or where the vine overruns the grassy yard? Bejewling eggplant, a treasure, even though it doesn't hide so much. And pumpkins, their orange color calling attention to themselves, but maybe not in time for you to pull them at their peak. I love the beauty you can find among the dying stalks, the produce which was the fruit of each plant's grown season.
I think I also like fall because it marks the beginning of the holiday season. We have several family birthdays beginning in October and running through March in rapid succession. Not to mention Halloween -- spooky decorations, costumes and parties; Thanksgiving -- the time of our 'moveable' feast, when we're never sure who will be home or where we'll be eating; and Christmas, which we do up in royal style with a caroling party, decorations throughout the house (and I do mean throughout!), family getting together, and a few presents. On to New Year's with it's party or parties, and then more birthdays. [as for other holidays, Easter has its own time, Memorial Day and the 4th are special in their own ways, and there's one more birthday in July. After that, well, then it's just hot.
I suppose the fact that October is when I was born -- along with my father, my husband, and one of our sons -- has something to do with it. My personal start in life and its anniversary is in the fall; that's my 'renewal' date.
The thing is, fall is coming and everything is ramping up. The girls start college -- exciting for them and us --, youngest son starts his sophomore year of high school, older son is in his senior year of college, with all the complexities and planning that entails, the two older girls are -- in various ways -- working on planning both this next year and the coming few years of their lives. Dave and I are looking at new prospects in several areas of our own lives. It just looks like things are about to get very, very busy.
I'm curious about how many people are surprised by these times in their lives. In our heads, we all know we have phases to our lives; we all know that we shift gears and switch programs and make changes. How many of us, however, are taken aback when it actually happens? When suddenly we are caught up in something new or different? How many of us feel the earth shake a little when we break a pattern, especially one long in use?
Is it unsettling for you when you leave one club to join another with a different activity? Or does it take something really major, like a job change or a cross-country move or a child's wedding to rock your life?
