November strides by without a glance, wrapped in grays and browns and leaving half her clothes behind as she passes. They cover the land and join the leaves, now dry and dull, that stir with each wave of wind returned. Sunshine is worth more these days. We rejoice when it spills through the windows and, like orphans, we follow it from room to room.
At times, November seems a too-long month of too-little light. Too-cold house and too much dark. It's not all bad, though. There are other too-muches pleasanter, like these:
Too much tea, too much coffee, and too much cocoa
Too many blankets and too many sweaters
Too much sitting and too much reading-of-books
Too much water in a too-hot shower
Too many rosy faces painted by a too-strong wind
Too many canning jars stuffed with too much food
Too many floors covered with too much stuff
Too many rooms bursting with too much energy
And more for giving thanks:
The surprise of waking to find myself spread with sunshine;
Early morning light that sets dim corners on fire;
Five girls who fashion these days;
Little kicks within that startle me out of monotony;
The hope of new life;
Date nights; going steady; having a Heart;
Seasonal incentive for doing dishes-- it thaws out the hands!
Seasonal incentive for mopping the floor- company for Thanksgiving!
Seasonal incentive for eating candy- sacrificing my health for the children's sake!
Wind blowing every which way;
Lonesome honks; a sky-high parade; fall's fare-thee-well;
Migrating birds overhead, hundreds that rise and fall as one, that ripple and swell like a large, black sheet hung in the sky;
Those same blackbirds clustered in noisy traveling bands in the trees next to the house;
Winter sunsets splashed about;
Bent and crooked fences in fields now abandoned;
The elegance of trees in their bones, lined against a swathe of sky;
Dark nights and strewn stars with no competition but the moon;
The beauty of bare things.
Most of all, I'm thankful for endless new beginnings. They bolster each night and gird each morning. I daily fall; I hourly flop; so, these beginnings, I can't do without.
And there you have it.
Today's ramble to chug this train out of the station.
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John needs his netbook (which hates me as bitterly as I hate it) for work, so I'm leaning on the internet whims of ye olde laptop, who connects one day out of five these days. Let's hope I finish posting snapshots before she finds out what I'm up to!
Here goes nothing...
In case this fluffily worded post did not make it clear, I hate November. It's February's sister, and they're both miserly things.
ReplyDeleteGrrr. Garumph. Glump.
I hear you! My amazing and wonderful Mama sends me a boquet of yellow flowers every November, just because I hate it so. They always- ALWAYS- lessen the blow of having to dress properly for heading to work and putting on the teacher-show in the midst of grey coldness... :)
ReplyDeleteI have been a horrible blog commenter as of late but I have a moment now to tell you how much (as usual) I love your posts. Your photos. Your words. All are desert for me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post and the many too-many and too muches. I especially loved this:
Most of all, I'm thankful for endless new beginnings. They bolster each night and gird each morning. I daily fall; I hourly flop; so, these beginnings, I can't do without.
Because really new beginnings are the only thing that get me through one day to the next. At the end of each day I praise God that tomorrow *may* be better and at the beginning of each morning I thank God for the second chance.
Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. You were a very large bullet in my ever-checking list of blessings, so yesterday I thanked God for you as I have done countless times in the past. (Mushy gushy begone!)
And as for your other commenter....what I wouldn't give for yellow flowers each November. What a swell Mom!
I echo Rebecca's sentiments, as well. I enjoyed your Ode to fall - what a graceful and poetic way to state your displeasure! In Texas, October bears some semblance to fall but this year's drought pushed our fall into November giving us our first cool week of weather - this week! Our highs will be in the low 60's. It is a blessed relief after triple digit temperatures endured from June to September.
ReplyDeleteMuch love!
I loved visiting you this morning..Your pictures are beautiful, as are your words..Thanks for allowing me the chance to see a part of your world.
ReplyDeleteMichelle,
ReplyDeleteLucky! You've got a mother who understands what a girl needs in the gray and gloom. :)
Rebeccca,
Bad blog commenters don't exist. ANY commenter is a good commenter, even if they only comment once in a blue moon. (And given the move, I'm surprised you bothered commenting at all!) Commentcommentcomment.
I am very thankful for you as well, friend.
Matt,
You probably don't read my blog, but you should. You should be a faithful reader, and you should pore over the comments just as obsessively as the posts because they're chock full of useful information. (E.g. Rebecca: "WHAT I WOULDN'T GIVE for yellow flowers each November." Take note!)
Molly,
Your comments make me thankful for the gray rain and cold! May God give you spots of relief and, most of all, water for that parched land.
Elizabeth,
Welcome, always welcome. I'm praying for you!
Words and pictures, both, sheer beauty (as ever).
ReplyDelete