And Now It Is Fall

While the weather this week is predicted to be warm by the feel of the evenings it is clear that fall is fast approaching. Fall is often our most enjoyable season. High blue skies, warm days, crisp nights, and of course for those of us with schoolage children we are back into our routines.

This past summer might well have been the most amazing weather wise I can remember. While the heat was overpowering across much of the country I do not think that it was the hottest summer on record here, it might not have been the driest, but what I do think is that without doubt it was the sunniest. A few clouds here and there but last week when we had a rainy day or two I could not recall the last time we had a full rainy day. In short for sun lovers a perfect summer.

As we approach fall my kids are all in school. My oldest is a Senior and trying to figure out what he wants to do next year. He wants to go to college, he thinks he wants to go out of state, but complicated things like majors, where, and cost are things he would like to worry about....tomorrow.

My middle son is in tenth grade, finishing drivers ed, in fact he should have his permit in literally three hours. I await this joyous event with lukewarm excitement. I never look forward to my boys driving, and I have more fear for this one than his older brother as I think there is at least a chance he might be more inclined to make mistakes of a showoffy nature. My older son, God Bless him, is too ornery to try to impress anybody. In the world of driving that might be one of the few places where that attribute is an asset.


My youngest daughter continues in her artistic way. She is a homebody, she loves her family and while she has some great friends the adjustments that happen in Junior High have made her somewhat ambivalent. She enjoys doing things with her friends and is a typical teenage girl when she does, but she also can be easily self contained. Much like I was when I was a kid actually.

Football starts today and while I will watch enough to keep up with the teams enough to help my sister in her football pool football holds no great excitement for me. I will care in December, and then only somewhat.

As I get older my sports interest becomes more and more one dimensional and the offseason in baseball becomes my offseason as well and sports surely take a strong backseat to what is going on in my life at that time. I have less and less interest in the other sports which used to provide at least a distraction during the offseason.

The fall also brings the " New television season " which, unfortunately is another event that has reduced excitement from years ago. Now with the advent of cable and the dominance, for example in the Emmy's, of Cable Tv, there is more reason to get excited over the return of The Walking Dead or Boardwalk Empire than anything the networks might be bringing back or debuting.

Still I think getting older is an exercise in modification. The highs and excitements of life are a little less so, the lows are also not as low and we settle into a period of contentment that is deeper. If one wanted to we could describe our younger years as bit more bi-polar than what we find later in life.


Of course that in itself can take one away from success as all these motivational folks will tell you that you should always keep striving. For me the sign of maturity is when, perhaps, you find a place of happiness and contentment and most of your striving and effort is then to help your children on the same path. Biologically we have little use to the world once we have procreated.

Take me for example, my disability is not fun. Most days moving is difficult and somedays worse than that. Still I am warm, have enough to eat, have many interests I can still pursue, and have a great family. Imagine if I had been a cross country runner or some kind of outdoor enthusiast. I enjoy sports, and miss basketball and baseball especially, but love of books has probably saved my sanity.


The last thing fall brings is, this year, the Presidential election. Everyone knows where I come down on the vote, I just hope that the campaigns can be run in such a way so as to not the whole process seem dirty and make us in this country feel bad about the process. We have to feel pride in the process, if we can do that, then the results of the election will be less isolating and more accepted.

We all know what comes after fall, let us enjoy these next couple of months.