Fall Learning

I don't know if fall and learning are just forever locked together in my brain from years of being in school, but there's something about the colder days and longer nights that make me want to curl up in a comfy armchair and read all I can about days gone by.

In the winter, there's the craziness of the holidays and then the massive amounts of snow that usually come our way. It slows us all down, and for me, personally, zaps my energy, especially as the temperature gets lower and the wood stove burns warmer. I just want to eat all the bad things and sleep until the sun is at least out, which ain't gonna happen when sunrise is 7:13 and the bus comes at 7:45.

In the spring, come the first breeze that actually delights the senses and doesn't send me burrowing into the nearest dwelling, I find myself venturing, willingly, outdoors. There's no time for academia. Spring has sprung! The earth is pungent with heavenly smells- daffodils, lilacs, lily of the valley. I stay outside as much as I can because it feels like I've been freed from the prison of winter.

In the summer, there's definitely no time for studying. It's time to explore! I want to do all I can in the one time of the year that the weather rarely interferes, except the occasional rainy day. I want to be outside even more than I did in the spring, and the longer days allow for it. If I'm going to be learning anything history-related, I want to do it on foot- hikes, monuments, the like.

And now here we are, in autumn. My friend and I attended a history lecture a few weeks ago on a cool but sunny day, and I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather be doing. This is me. I'm a proud, self-proclaimed history geek! I am happy that I can further my education by attending lectures and visiting museums so close to me. I still am in awe of how many opportunities are right in my own backyard, if I look for them.

If I could go back in time, to my newly-college-graduated self, I would say: "Don't worry about not getting your Masters Degree. It's okay that you don't know the exact career you want right now. Your English degree will serve you well in any job you get down the line. Sometimes it takes a little while to find where your true passion lies."

I'm so glad I've found it. Now, you'll have to excuse me. I have the house to myself and a book told from the perspective of a daughter of a doctor in the late 1800s. It's calling my name.

Simple Things

I'm a married 32 year old mother of two and I drive a 10 year old Ford Focus. Getting from Point A to Point B, safely, is usually my one and only objective when I drive. But, one night, when I was returning home with the kids, I couldn't help but remember something my dad used to do for fun when I was growing up.

We have a long driveway. Once in a while, to get a squeal out of us, he would race up the driveway quickly in whatever car we were are all in, brake, and then pull into our small driveway faster than usual. Now, don't worry, this isn't 80 MPH we're talking about, probably just 10 MPH faster than the usual crawl up the driveway (my main assurance to you is that it's perfectly safe. I'm not being risky.)

Per my usual ways with the kids, I pretended our car was doing it on her own accord. Yes, her. Her name is Myrtle. I said: "Woah, Myrtle! Stop being so crazy! This isn't a racetrack. You're Myrtle, not Lightning McMyrtle!" and so on and so forth.

The kids were doubled over with laughter. I was laughing, too. They knew it was me, controlling the car, but they played along.

If that's not evidence of finding joy in the simple things, then I don't know what is.

Noticing

The other afternoon, I couldn't help but notice the blaze of orange reddish leaves against the dark grey of clouds rolling in. It was majestic.

As always, the swamps have been turning color first. While the green grass fades, the trees in the wet areas start showcasing their beautiful autumn shades. I have a few that I look for now every year. All these things I never noticed when I was working full-time. All these things I never noticed when I was sleep-deprived and just trying to take each day as it came.

I'm noticing now, and have been for a few years.

When I'm quarry walking, I spy a spray of light green ferns trying to stick out early autumn. I spy a small rippling stream of water, with tiny, yellow leaves leisurely floating around. I spy a single autumn leaf fallen on the ground. It's the contrast of autumn that I notice the most- the color against the darkening, greying backdrop of the rest of the world.

The busier I get, the more important it becomes to slow down and notice the things above. It calms my mind. There is just something to say about getting out of your own head for a minute or two.

There is just something about noticing the changing world around you, and choosing to take that minute to enjoy yourself and the display that mother nature has to offer us.