To Everything There is a Season

My life right now is going in about 360 different directions. Everything is in an upheaval and all I really want to do is run away and change my identity. Of course that isn't possible, so I guess I'll try to power through, with help from the heavens and my family and friends.

In seventh grade, long long ago when teacher still made you learn cursive writing and recess was an hour of kick ball and jumping rope, we were made to learn a poem; Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken". Even now it stirs of feelings of where did I make the wrong turn, whose council did I miss?

As we fly rapidly through these last days of summer, think not of things ending, but of things returning. For everything is a circle, there is a time to every purpose.  Enjoy my friends.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Have a safe weekend everyone. See you in the fall!

Autumn Reminiscences

Let's talk about Autumn shall we?

While driving down the expressway leaving for the weekend, my mind wanders as through the window each passing tree reminds me of the season. Leaves, swirling down to gravity's command, wearing the fading glory of their vibrant show. It is that time again. Fall, the season when all things beautiful come to an end in preparation for the depth of winter. My favorite season.

Some people love Spring, the time of awaken and new life; others prefer the hot, sticky steam of a Deep South Summer. Others thrill for the freeze and promise of overlying pure blankets of perfect white brilliance, and the smell of the hearth fire flavoring the painful breath of Winter. While each of the other seasons have their charms and I do enjoy them each in its turn, my heart ever longs for Autumn.

As a child I enjoyed the swish of the fallen leaves as we ran through the neatly raked piles, laughter bubbling up from a wellspring deep inside. The special perfume of Saturday afternoons, a concoction of camp fires, s'mores, popcorn, and crisp cool air sliding across the countryside always brings me back to simpler days: Friday night football games and Saturday night bonfires followed by Sunday afternoon rides leaf peeping from the back of my favorite horse.

I love mornings, when the fog hangs low over the creeks and valleys of the mountains which surround us. The sting of early chill in the air brings a tear to my eyes when walking the horses out for the day. Mid morning the first of the long sleeves are coming off, and by after lunch you can wander in the sunshine in short sleeves; laughing to yourself over the capricious nature of Fall weather.

Autumn also brings the memories of first love. The rush of attraction soon followed by the thrill of those early dates. My first love left in the fall, more than once actually. He was in the Air Force. It seemed we were always saying goodbye. Then came college and the rush of fraternity boys. Homecoming and formals, dances where the music always seemed to fit the mood and alcohol flowed. 

Change happens constantly, but in Fall the changes are spread across the spectrum of God's creatures. Not only are the trees wearing and shedding their brilliance, but the animals are in their element, preparing for the depths of hibernation. Squirrels scurry hither and yon, memory failing them in the endless search for their summer hiding places. The skies are filled with vast formations of birds, seeking the earth's compass to guide them to the safety and warmth of winter homes. By Autumn's end, the forests will be poised with an air of patience; waiting for the earth to tilt again and the lengthening of days.

So as the calendar winds down toward harvest's end and before we bar the doors and windows against the long night of winter, enjoy the fleeing beauty of Fall's glorious daylight. Partake of the fruits of the vines and the bounty of the fields. Autumn's Harvest is here. Enjoy the repast!

'F' is for Football, Especially in the South

I know that is it spring, but already teams are readying themselves for the Fall Gridiron Spectacle known as Football.

Don't get me wrong, I love baseball. Maybe one day the Braves will actually make it all the way again. I wonder if they hold the record for most times close but never there? I remember going to watch the games at the old Atlanta Stadium back in the 70's, where a ticket got you into the door, but there were so few people you could sit wherever you wanted.

I saw Hank Aaron hit quite a few of his home runs, listened to the games on the AM radio my father kept beside his bed with my pillow on the floor; but always and forever the fall weekends belong to football. On Friday night it is the high school games with their sense of community.  But Saturday the gloves come off and it is time for old rivals to square off again as college ball takes center stage.

We are a house divided. I cheer for the blue & gold of Georgia Tech. My son, alas, is a UGA Bulldog. And if that wasn't bad enough, now my daughter is hell bend on attending Auburn. Go War Eagle.

For those who manage to survive Saturday, grab a hair of the dog and hang on because the Falcons play on Sunday. That slides us back around to Monday where we will gather around the water cooler and debate the various games and teams until Friday rolls around and we start the entire circus all over again.

Yep, I love baseball, but give me a case of good old fashioned hatred anytime!

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Tara Mills!

You are the winner for the Autumn's Harvest Blog Hop giveaway of a $10 gift card to either Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble - your choice! The comments were awesome, and it was hard to pick just one winner. If you ask me, you are all winners. I wish I could give something to each one!

Autumn is on the downswing now as we head to Thanksgiving, then the Holiday season in December. Join me later this week as I talk about our family's Thanksgiving traditions and my fondest recollections of dinner disasters!

Thank you to everyone who came by; whether you left a comment or not I feel extremely humble to have shared not only my memories but also an excerpt of my first novel, "Catalyst - Guardian Rising." If you are interested in learning more about my book, the first of a trilogy, then please visit my blog: www.catalyst-the-guardian.blogspot.com.

And a BIG thank you to Carrie Ann's Blog Hops for putting together this magnificent networking opportunity. I hope I get to know some of you better as a result of her 'Hops"!