I got my wish for a few Indian summer days. We have had three glorious days. Today it was so warm I walked in short sleeves. I even sat on my deck to read while the leaves drifted down on my hair and brushed by me like ghosts. Just a little distracting!
It was a day for household chores: laundry, making soup, cleaning out the refrigerator... that last has been like a recurring mantra this year. Every time I go away I have to clean out all the perishables. Hence the soup, great for using up leftovers.
Two days ago in the midst of some trees stripped completely bare, and others that were thinning, I saw one huge well-rounded oak tree completely green, not a leaf changed. The very next day, it looked like it was slightly tinted with rust on one side. Today its leaves are changing quickly, but not to any bright color, just turning brown and falling. Curious how some trees drop their leaves so quickly as if tired of working, ready for rest, and others hold onto their leaves so tightly that some never fall until the winds of winter take them down.
I had heard that we can get allergies as we get older and it appears that I have. I never had allergic reactions until the last few years. Usually I am only bothered in the fall, and then not every day. I get a hoarseness in my throat and a drippy nose. Perhaps that was the cause for the scratchiness in my right eye because it has not bothered at all for the last few days. That’s a relief.
Son Jon called me from Hawaii today. He said they did not need as much recovery time from their Trek as they had anticipated they might. They are feeling rested and full of energy. The trail was expected to be rocky and require clambering up and down, but they had not anticipated how muddy it would be. What he described sounded like a soggy mess with debris and manure and it did not get much better as they went along. Of course the rain did not help improve it either. They are thinking they might do another trek in a year or two. Adventurous souls.
Speaking of adventurous souls, a distant cousin has written on Facebook about the first days for her family in Ethiopia where they have gone as missionaries. To go there on your own, out of commitment and calling, is a noble task. To do it with husband and eight children is a miracle. That is what she calls it. After weeks of preparation and hundreds of decisions, she is feeling “down”. Great stressors (like moving a continent away) can lead to being “down” or depressed. As time goes by I know her faith, as well as adjustment to her new life, will show her the opportunities she seeks to help this country that she loves. It is quite different from the life she knew in Montana. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to try and manage a household of ten in a city where one knows only a few words of the spoken language. She is braver than I.
I’ll be driving back to Cleveland to see Dr. Lass this week. I’ll probably be there a few days to take care of some business and than return home. It will be good to be home for more than a few days or a couple weeks at a time.
Be seeing you...
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