It seems like a lot of things are conspiring to take away my enjoyment of these cool – and thankfully wet—days.
Politics are at the top of the list. I don’t care what side you are on, or if you don’t take a side, but you are bound to be worn out from all the rhetoric on both sides and in the middle. We are so far away from the republic the founding fathers envisioned as to be laughable. Except it isn’t funny.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if the candidates for office showed each other respect and kindness? It has gotten so nasty on the national stage that good people don’t even consider running anymore. I wouldn’t put my family through that, would you?
Then there is the time change. I am totally confused and afraid to even eat a meal because my personal time clock is so discombobulated that I could be consuming cereal at midnight. Every year or so I get my hopes up that the Legislature will stop the madness and every time I wind up like Charlie Brown after Lucy moves the football. Right now, it feels like I could sleep all winter, like a bear. Not to mention that I, like everyone else in the county, am about half sick with the fall efferzuggies.
We have suffered the loss of Judy Curtin. She was one of the first people I met when I came to town. It seems like the old guard is passing away and it saddens me, the collective loss of our town, our people, our history.
But there are still wet woods to walk in, wet streets to walk on. The town and the county continue to try and move forward with municipal projects and infrastructure growth that in time will put us back on the map when businesses are looking to grow and young families are looking for an affordable place to call home.
In a deep, dark corner of my chicken house a growly, cross hen is setting on a clutch of eggs. She loves them and moves them around daily as a good hen will do, not knowing some of them were contributed by her sisters, so she could wind up with black and white speckled babies to snug up under her golden wings.
And it is winding down to Thanksgiving, a time when it is not just acceptable, but fully expected, for us to count our blessings and share them with others.
The act of acknowledging the goodness and grace that has been extended to each of us is intended to create in us a humble heart, a thankful soul.
I am thankful, thankful we live in a republic where we are allowed to vote, to voice our opinions. I am glad our leaders have the time to deal with silliness like time changes, because it means they aren’t dealing with a war on our soil. I appreciate the time we had with Judy here and the knowledge she was willing to share.
I revel in wet woods for walking in and wet streets for going down, kicking piles of leaves as I go. I am even grateful for the challenges to rebuilding this town into what it can be, should be, will be. A good start has been made.
And in a few weeks, I will listen expectantly for the chirping of newly hatched chicks, a sure sign life will go on all around us, even as the year passes away.
Living with these changes reminds me that life is change, even as we grow, learn and change ourselves. Change is what makes life worth living.