fall

A Fall-ish Day in August

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“There is a time in the last few days of summer when the ripeness of autumn fills the air” (Rudolfo Anaya).

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns” (George Eliot).

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!” (Percy Bysshe Shelley)

I love days like this. Today, it almost felt like fall came early. I know that it’s just a temporary spell that will soon be replaced by the return of the hot and sticky hell known as a Tennessee summer.

I actually drove home from downtown Franklin with my windows rolled down. I could smell the sweet summer breezes drifting through my car as good music played on my CD player.

Weather like this always makes me nostalgic for times past. I don’t know why Autumn in particular seems to bring up old memories more than any other time of the year.

Sometimes, I think I could live in a place where the temperature hovered somewhere between 55 and 75 all year round. I don’t know if a place like that exists but I’d move there tomorrow.

Right now, I have a very playful and energetic kitten who needs my attention. She won’t stay tiny forever and I will one day miss her kittenish ways when she gets all grown up and mature.

So thanks for reading this and I hope we have a few more days of this fall sneak preview before the return of the sweats and the humidity. My prayer for you and me is that we can find at least one thing to be thankful for in every day, starting today.

 

 

 

Those May-tober Days

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Tennessee weather is weird. I get that. Like weird as in they should probably make pills for this.

The saying goes that if you don’t like the current weather, stick around a little while and it will likely change.

You get all four seasons here, sometimes in one week.

Today was one of those quirky weather days we get from time to time, a day that doesn’t in the least match what the weather is supposed to be for the time of the year.

It’s May and the temperature barely got above 50. It was a grey, rainy day that felt and looked a lot like a typical fall day. Oh, and it’s May. I did mention that, right?

It’s funny how 50 degrees can feel so good after a cold spell in winter, but the same 50 degrees feels chilly after a few days of weather in the 80’s.

Sometimes, the best thing to do is to enjoy what comes, even if it’s not what you expected or even wanted. Faith trusts that God is up to something good and that His promises are more true than your circumstances or feelings. Joy is what happens when you keep trusting in the midst of fear and doubt and don’t give up.

I for one am a fan of fall weather, so I was in heaven. I’m not eagerly anticipating those super hot and humid days that Tennessee is famous for in July and August. I already sweat profusely, so it won’t be pretty.

So I enjoyed this sneak preview of fall about five months early. Hopefully when the true summer weather comes, I’ll be able to find the good then and keep the joy alive.

Maybe that gratitude thing works even in the midst of a summer heatwave?

I’m certainly counting on it.

 

 

 

Rush, The Walking Dead, and Unseasonably Warm Fridays

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Thankfully, my musical tastes have improved vastly since my high school days. Also thankfully, there were exceptions to the rule even then. A few decent bands snuck in my playlist (which back then was called CDs on a Sony Walkman). One of those was Rush.

I got to relive my glory days in the car today during all my commuting. I had Rush to keep me company. I forgot how complex their music was and how proficient each of the three members were on their instruments. I find myself appreciating their music in new and different (and perhaps deeper) ways.

I made it home and finally got around to watching the season premiere of season 7 of The Walking Dead, where I found out who was the unfortunate victim of Negan and his favorite weapon, Lucille (which happens to be a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire).

This show is definitely not for the faint of heart or the queasy of stomach. This particular episode was like a punch in the gut (as I’m sure it was for the actors as well). For those who still haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil it for you by naming the victim. I will say that I preferred the olden days when it was the zombies killing people.

It was another good night for driving home with the windows down. That never gets old. What does get old is the almost summer-like heat that seems to never want to go away. I already miss the fall temperatures we had over the past weekend.

Still, there’s hope for November. There’s all those festive seasonal drinks and (a few) changing colors in the leaves. Plus, the gift of waking up to celebrate the new day never ever gets old. At least I hope it never does.

PS My cat Lucy approves this message and asks for your votes for President this November. Or she would if she weren’t already asleep.

 

 

Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and More Musical Magic

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Let it be known for the record that I was a Bob Dylan fan BEFORE he was a Nobel Prize recipient. I actually can’t remember when I became a fan, but it’s been at least ten years.

i geek out whenever I find one of his bootleg series albums at Grimey’s. I’m still buying CDs over vinyl because the former fits into my budget much better than the latter. Plus, I don’t really have a record player.

Periodically, I go back and revisit the older stuff, like Blonde on Blonde or The Times They Are A-Changin’, but my sentimental favorite is still Slow Train Coming, partly because of the Muscle Shoals sound he incorporated on it and partly because of the overt faith elements.

For my commute, I’ve embarked on Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings 1952-1959. I’m in music heaven. You really get the sense that you’re sitting in on the birth of R & B (although true musical purists will probably disagree with me). What no one can deny is that this music holds up even 60 years later.

I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new Timothy B Schmit album via snail mail, hopefully by sometime in 2016. I’ve heard snippets on the radio, and I really like the old-school 70’s vibe on it. Think a dash of Eagles with some Poco thrown in, plus elements of country rock, funk, soul, and everything else in there.

I hope to continue my classic country music trend in the days to come. I hope I make it to McKay’s to supplement my already ridiculous amount of music.

I do love music. I still think one of my favorite things is driving at twilight on an overcast fall day with the windows rolled down and the perfect song playing. It takes me to my inner happy place.

That covers my musical adventures for the month of October. More to come at some undetermined time in the future.

 

Monday Surprises

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“Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let’s not be afraid to receive each day’s surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity” (Henri Nouwen).

Even Mondays can hold a few good surprises if you know where (and how) to look.

Life is like that. Some of the most memorable blessings often come in disguise and the best joys can come in the guise of heartbreak. Even the most mundane moments can contain the best surprises.

Here are a few of the surprises I encountered on this Monday, October 10, 2016.

  1. If I had to pick and ideal weather climate, I think I’d pick a place where the temperature and  wind and everything else was just like today. It was picture perfect.
  2. A friend of mine forsook our normal Starbucks meeting place in favor of some fantastic Thai food at Siam Pad Thai in Cool Springs. I can’t recommend their pad thai highly enough.
  3. We went for a walk as the sun was setting. I don’t know what it is about twilight and dusk, but they are my favorite part of the day, especially on crisp autumn days,
  4. One of my favorite simple pleasures is sitting in my Jeep with the windows rolled down at any time of year other than the hottest part of summer and the coldest part of winter.
  5. Even as an adult, nothing beats good chocolate milk. Well, very few things, anyway.
  6. Even now, I’m counting down the days to the start of Advent and all things Christmas, not forgetting Halloween and Thanksgiving (which too often gets the retail shaft but is one of my personal favorites).

The old hymn gets it right when it tells us to count our many blessings and name them one by one. It’s the counting of blessings which makes gratitude possible and it’s the naming of them that releases the joy.

I almost forgot one. Soft beds with warm covers to huddle under with the ceiling fan on high even in the dead of winter. That’s also one of my favorites.

October 5, 2016

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“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower” (Albert Camus).

Is it really October? I still have a hard time wrapping my head around that little tidbit, especially when it got up to 88 today. To me, that’s not October weather.

I have to remember this is Tennessee, where if you don’t like the weather, you can stick around for a week and see all the other seasons so you can pick the one you like.

Still, my ideal October weather is in the low to mid-60’s during the day and crisp nights with an autumnal breeze. That makes for good bonfires and for good pumpkin spice everything. It also makes comfortable flannel wearing possible (and I have missed all my flannel).

Most of all, I just want to enjoy my life and not miss any of it for worrying about what’s been and what’s yet to come. I can’t control either one of those, so why obsess over them?

So there you have it. My ideal fall day involves hot frothy beverages, flannel, bonfires, s’mores, and a chill in the air with just the tiniest hint of frost. Oh, and maybe some color in the leaves before they flutter to the ground.

You can keep your sweaty summers with all the mosquitos. I’ll take fall, thank you very much.

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!” (Percy Bysshe Shelley)

 

October

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“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” (L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables).

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house [Notebook, Oct. 10, 1842]” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebook).

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. [Letter to Miss Lewis, Oct. 1, 1841]” (George Eliot, George Eliot’s Life, as Related in Her Letters and Journals – Volume 1).

I love October. It means the real beginning of Autumn.

I know that fall started officially on September 21, but it still felt like heat stroke weather in Tennessee. Now, it feels like fall.

Fall to me means temps with a high in the mid-60’s and a slightly overcast sky. It means the faintest smell of bonfires and hayrides and decaying leaves. It means nights that err on the chilly side with a brisk breeze blowing.

Hopefully, it will stay fall for a while and not rush on to winter or revert back to summer for a bit. I get the most nostalgic for places and people long gone during this season, but it’s also when my soul feels most calm and at ease.

I still have yet to partake of that pumpkin spice, but that will very soon be remedied. Stay tuned for more details.

 

 

Autumn Has Arrived

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Autumn is here.

I realize that Fall officially started a week ago, but the last two days have really felt like true Autumn. The cooler temperatures with the crisp breezes and just the faintest hint of the coming winter.

I have yet to partake of the pumpkin spice, but that will soon be remedied. I look forward to flannel, bonfires, s’mores, and a riot of colors on all the trees. I most look forward to not sweating profusely when I go walking on my lunch break.

For me, Fall is the season where I get nostalgic the most, where memories of my childhood come rushing back. I don’t really know why that is, but I like it.

I hope it lasts. I hope I get multiple chances to drive home with the windows down and good music playing. I hope to have many frothy beverages.

Most of all, I hope that all of us can learn to savor and not simply survive the days we are given. Learn to enjoy the small pleasures and the simple gifts.

Happy Fall, everyone!

 

I’m Not Even On Drugs. I’m Just Weird.

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I’m not even on drugs. I’m just weird.

That sums up my day. I’ve been racking my brain for 30 minutes thinking of something noteworthy to write about, but apparently, the literary part of my mind has already called it a night and gone to bed.

I read where having your dog sleep next to you on the bed helps you to sleep better, reduces anxiety and depression, and increases your lifespan. I wonder if sleeping next to snoring cats has the same effect.

I believe that Fall officially starts in two days. For those of us (like me) in Tennessee, that means we have all the pumpkin spice beverages to consume while it’s still at least 90 degrees outside for another month or so.

Still, I’m thankful. I’m grateful for every day of life that I get. I’m appreciative for good health and mobility. The older I get, the less I take these things for granted because the more I know people who didn’t get to wake up this morning and experience the miracle of life.

I highly recommend that you get either a dog or a cat who can sleep next to you in bed. I also recommend partaking in a pumpkin spice beverage at least once during the season. Most of all, I recommend giving thanks every day for at least one good thing, no matter how small. See how that will change your perspective.

 

Fall Preview? Almost

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As I sat on the patio at Athens Family Restaurant, eating my delightful lamb bacon burger, I noticed that for a few brief moments it almost felt like fall. Almost.

It was still too warm to really be fall-ish weather, but when the sun hid behind the clouds and a friendly breeze was blowing, I could almost imagine leaves changing colors and bonfires blazing somewhere in the distance.

As eager as I am to get to Autumn, I am not as eager to throw away the last days of summer. I know that there are no rewind or pause buttons on the remote control of life. Once a part of your life is over, you can never go back.

That’s why I am learning to cherish each and every day. Even the ones in August where the heat and humidity leave me feeling like I stepped into a sauna every time I step outside. I don’t do hot weather as well as I used to, or maybe the humidity is worse than I remember. Either way, I’m not a fan.

Still, I know that I can find the hidden joys even on the hottest days and that giving thanks still unlocks the miracles even in the midst of the humidity. After all, any day that you’re still breathing and full of purpose is a good day, regardless of circumstances or the weather.

So as I type this, I have a snoring geriatric cat on the pillow next to me. It’s just another reminder to take time to enjoy the simple pleasures of this life, the little God-winks of each day.

Thank You, God, for the day and all it holds. Thank You that no matter what comes my way, You are more than sufficient to handle it and no matter how much I hold in my hands at the end of the day, You will always be enough. Amen.