Simply A Moment | 9.15.23…

9:15 AM – The bright blue sky is crystal clear; there is a slight breeze, evident by the gentle sway of leaves on the trees, bushes, grasses and an occasional leaf or two, whirling to the ground. There isn’t a cloud to be seen. A beautiful autumn day.

Look closely. Do you see the butterflies?

I sit here at the table, trying to decide what do I do next? Writers’ Hour is over for the time being; there is another session scheduled at 11 A, EST, 8 AM PST… I doubt I’ll join for I’m not actually bursting with words begging to be made visible and my day’s to do list is long…

I contemplate a walk to the Franciscan Monastery but my “to do” agenda rules that out. Me thinks my morning walk to and thru the park will fit the bill quite nicely and on the way to/fro I will undoubtedly stumble on a leaf or more on the sidewalk, a lovely autumn fleur, and the refreshing caress of a breeze on my cheeks. Cool enough for sleeves on my arms.

Over the past couple years, since Covid rudely interrupted all our lives, I’ve sat at this table and watched another apartment building being built. DC is only 64 square miles and these days, a plot of land, especially on major thoroughfares and streets, becomes prime real estate for multi dwelling buildings … and because no building can be taller than the Washington Monument, sky scrappers are out of the question, thereby limiting how tall any building may be …

The big decision: do I check out the progress of the new apartment building on my walk to or from the park? I think To… or Fro…Hmmm

1:30 PM – This gorgeous day is half over! I’ve completed my walk and every step was as lovely as I’d anticipated. The breeze still caresses the trees and the sky, cloudless. Three loads of laundry – not necessarily “fun” but definitely D-O-N-E.

A photo to end this post: Elias, now in all day kindergarten, working on his autobiography. They start young…

Cheers~

September … the new January

Today we’ve reached the predicted high: 95 degrees and we still have hours to go before sunset. The forecast: hotter through Friday and then thankfully, a cool down to on the weekend, the mid-90s. Can’t come too soon!

On the last day of school, I remember singing the lyrics “school’s out, school’s out, teacher’s let the fools out …no more pencils, no more books…” as we headed home. The very next week, we were bored to tears and complained of having “nothing to do.” Which was patently untrue!

For my ducats, I’m with the meteorologists : September is the beginning of Autumn/Fall, my favorite season of the year. My childhood memory of Labor Day was the ending of summer, the beginning of Autumn and the return to school! YAY!

Tomorrow, the kids return to school; city pools close – good they were open today, truly a Sayonara song. Life returns to normal…whatever that is.

One of the joys I remember from starting back to school: new pencils, a box of crayons and a ream of newsprint. There was a paper mill on the outskirts of town and we could get a ream of paper for a whole 25 cents – a quarter! I have a roll of newsprint I’ve had for years – one used to be able to get such from stores for packing purchases – no more.

These days, my “back-to-school” kit includes a couple new journals; composition books in a variety of colors; both analog and digital planners; and of course, my iPad, iPhone and Mac. I can ne’er make up my mind and I experiment with a lot of different ones- both analog and digital. Old habits are hard to break…and really, why should I?

Welcome September!