The Beginnings of Fall

Leaves and needles are falling from the trees, and sweaters are starting to appear. Right now at this very minute a storm is sweeping around and around our area like a curious cloud dipping down from Canada to sniff the air before returning upward and continuing on its whirlwind ways. The rain is methodically beating on the roof and on the deck and on the windows and on the cement sidewalk but mostly on my brain, reminding me that the time has passed for all those repairs that were supposed to be done before this season came along; another summer has come and gone with very little in the way of anything to show for it.

This past week has had its ups and downs both in the weather and in the general outlook of things, physically and emotionally and spiritually and every other which way there can be. Some kind of virus took hold of my system and hammered it pretty hard, reducing me to just a bundle of raw nerves, but nothing that hadn't been felt before nor beaten back with a bottle of this or that - mostly Excedrin and NyQuil. Took a day or so off work to recuperate, or at least to just sleep it off, and felt if not quite up to snuff, at least able to walk a few feet down the hallway without feeling like another nap.

The children are up to the Acceptance step in the Grief Cycle, accepting that school is here to stay for awhile and they might as well get used to it and buckle down and do their homework; not to say the struggle against their God-given (and father-accelerated) right to procrastinate is any easier this year than last. There are still constant reminders from the Parental Units to spend the requisite time on these things, with the threats of reduced allotments for entertainment hanging over their heads. The sullen attitudes we could do without; but what teenager would accept discipline without a fight? We take it in stride, and keep striding. Our goal is in sight: we can see in the near future that our nest will be empty, and there is hope that the young will have taken flight with a firm grasp on their skills and responsibilities, ready to take their place among the citizens of the world in solving all the problems brought about by their forebears.

James successfully navigated the path to First Class Scout this past weekend - more on that later - and Adam is still doggedly perfecting his driving skills; Deb is eager to add flute-playing to her musical skills this year, with several seasons of piano under her belt; and Mary is enjoying her independence as the sole family participant in the daily trek to the Elementary School yard.

Fall is here; the seasons are changing, the weather is changing, the family is changing, and the years keep adding on to one another. Time does have a way of accelerating as one's perspective changes. It will not be too much longer before we, like my own mother and father, will, God willing, gather our family together to celebrate fifty years of wedded bliss.

I cannot think of anyone with whom I'd rather share the time than my own Cheryl.