Don’t you love the city in the fall? If I knew your address I would send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. The majority of schools in our fair city opened their fall doors today. Where did that summer go and what have I accomplished? Is it critical that I accomplished something?? It wasn’t my choice to not work. I decided I would just enjoy the time and I think I truly did this time around. Now that my kids are grown I don’t have the monumental calendar events to remind me schools out therefore its summer and schools in therefore its fall. I usually figure this out based on when Starbucks comes out with pumpkin spice latte’s or starts up their frappacino happy hours. I have felt much like I have been living in another reality. In a difference universe. And as if I was a different person. It goes without saying that probably unemployment has played a key role in this. Instead of getting up in the wee hours of the morning to sneak off to the gym and be at my desk by 7:30, returning home at 4:30pm….I have been getting up when Mike leaves for work and 1/2 of the days, going walking. Then returning to open up all the windows and blinds to let the breeze and sun in, followed by cozying up in my favorite chair to spend time with my maker. Reading and journal-ling and praying. Non walking days, I found myself doing domestic tasks or meeting friends at Starbucks to keep sane and in tune with the world.
This summer has been filled with peach green tea lemonade’s and Whole 30 and lots of reading, writing and listening to my favorite music on the 8tracks app. I found some life changing Bible studies online to engage in. We seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time battening down the hatches every time a wind storm blew up, which was quite often. Or smoke from forest fires was filling the house. We took a lot of pictures of the hot pink moon. My flowers were glorious most of the summer, probably due to the heat and sun. We had very few, if any, of these crazy flooding rains that we have had other summers. This was a sit on the veranda, deck, porch or by the pool kind of summer. I had a fun filled week in Vegas at the beginning of May with my mom and sisters and I still think about that trip every single week. I turned 60 and my girlfriends and daughter threw me an amazing and memorable party. We did a road trip to Vancouver on the long weekend in July and spent a week out at my aunts lodge on the lake at Sun Peaks in August and today I relegated myself to my basement studio to plan my fall. I certainly can’t spend another 4 months doing as much nothing as I did the last four, can I?
But what a much needed and thoroughly enjoyed breather from life this past summer was for moi. Sometimes we just need to get off the hamster wheel and find ourselves again. Regroup and reevaluate. Yes, it had its trials and sorrows and still does but I’ve come to realize this is life. We don’t live on the mountain tops, we mostly live in the valley’s and a lot of the time they are on fire. As our pastor reminded us a few weeks ago, we usually find God ‘through the fire’. Its ironic how many fires are going on across the West this summer. Flooding in the south. Tragedy all over the world all mixed up with joy for many. Time passes and life goes on as many suffer and mourn. And at the same time many are celebrating and making wonderful memories and on the brink of new relationships and careers. Out planet is teaming with life in all its aspects and phases.
I think my favorite place to be in the summer is ‘on the water’. In July we took a water taxi to Granville Island and that was the highlight of that weekend for me. In August I was able to spend hours just paddling out into the middle of the lake and contemplate life. I love a speed boat with the wind blowing your hair back and the water spraying over your face. Refreshing and exhilarating. And the tastes of summer. I spent a hot quiet morning at the Saskatoon Farm picking buckets of fresh Saskatoons. Fresh cherries and peaches. BBQ’s chicken and hamburgers. Enticing salads taking the place of heavier entrees. Pies. Ice Tea. Toast eaten on the dock. Homemade ice cream. Moscato freezies. Watermelon….If I can’t be in a boat then bring me some watermelon. I could spend hours and usually did, listening to the wind in the aspens or the rain falling on the roof of the deck as I lay in bed at night, not worried that I wouldn’t get enough sleep because I had no where to go in the morning anyway. This summer was a feast for the senses. It was a lazy summer of no true obligations and stress. Well there is always something to stress about isn’t there? But I guess that is my choice.
But now…autumn. Leaves slowly starting to turn color. Its D-A-R-K by 9:00pm. We are supposed to have a few more hot days but sincerely, I am ready to move on to the next season. I am ready for boots and sweaters and PSLs. I even had a company call to set up an interview with me today. All I could think of was NOOoooo….I’m not ready. I have so much I still want to do. I want to enjoy cooler mornings sitting by the fireplace with a sweater on and reading sipping something hot. I want to paint. I want to sew. I want to create all matter of things in my basement studio. I just want to make beautiful things even if nobody cares. I just spent the day doing research for the possibility of making up my own job/career. Then this phone call. A corporate job = benefits, regular paycheque, new mission field, new adventure. I don’t even know if it will turn into anything. So I will just try to get more out of every day I have remaining at home, doing my bliss, as we never know how much time we have left to do anything. I will trust God to lead me, one way or another.
The Red Plaid Apron 