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Oops! Sorry About That ...

9/29/2012

If you live in the south, then you know that sinus and allergy problems are quite common. In fact, one character in every one of my books always gets a sinus infection - it's just a common health problem we face in the hot, humid south. One thing I've noticed, though, is that lots of people tend to get them at the same time.

Now why, pray tell, is that? Infections are bacterial based, meaning they shouldn't be contageous. And yet, I was diagnosed with one Wednesday and today Rick went to the doctor and was diagnosed with the same thing. Not only that, but 2 of my colleagues have had sinus infections recently as well.

llness does spread, and it can spread quickly and unexpectedly. All it takes is one person sneezing over the copy machine, or one person going to the movies with the sniffles, or one person touching that door handle and the germs are off. You can also carry those contageons days or sometimes weeks before you have symptoms - a scary fact, considering that I flew to San Francisco and back just 3 weeks ago and my return flights were full (and don't even get me started on the madness and pandemonium on that layover in Salt Lake City!). Not to mention all those people that were at the conference from 37 states. Well, ouch. I might have just set a new record for potentially spreading a contageon! I didn't feel sick 3 weeks ago but if this had a viral base then I could have been carrying it - and look how far.

Oops.

Sneaky germs! It's not fair. I'm the lifeform with the higher brain function and yet, it seems they won this round. That's probably why viruses and bacteria have survived so well and for so long. They're incidious little creatures that have survival down to an art. Hitchhike on higher lifeforms while you multiply and spread, and then strike when the numbers are high enough. No thought. No planning. Just action. Hrmph. Not a bad plan to survive, but still not nice. I mean really, what have we ever done to you? Well, besides kill you with doses of antibiotics that, ironically, have side effects that are almost as bad as what you cause.

Outsmarted by bacteria. Hrmph.

Well folks, if you do happen to get the sinus crud followed by an infection, I am truly sorry. I went through four airports in four days to a well attended conference with absolutely no idea that I could potentially be carrying
something. Truth is, we all do it, though. We just have to not bear grudges, realizing that we're being used by evil symbiotes, and move on. And as I said, antibiotics work well.

I hope you have a great weekend. Take care.

Bye!

Rise to It, Already!

9/26/2012

I was home sick with a sinus infection today and decided to watch the midday news. On it, they had a report on a state where sending children to school at age 5 is optional - they can do it, but aren't required to do it until the child is six years old. They touted this story as "does it give children an academic edge to wait a year?" but in reality, it was all parents saying "my child is too immature and I just think they need another year at home before starting school."

This reminded me of what happened at my church recently when we lost our pastor and associate pastor last spring. When we asked about forming a committee to find a new pastor, the Synod told us to wait a few months because "the congregation needs time to grieve, heal and deal with the loss of their pastors."

Really? Time to adjust and heal? Time to get ready? Folks, I'm going to be bluntly honest with you - I call bullcrap on that. I'd use the alternate phrase, but I strive to keep this blog PG-13 rated. But you get the point. I think this is all nonsense. And I will be glad to tell you why.

Reality rarely gives us time to ease into adjustments. Sure, sometimes we choose to make changes, but sometimes things happen with no warning and we're left with no choice but to accept it. There is no adjustment period. There is no "time out" for emotional healing. Reality takes an anvil to your life and you have no choice but to get up and start putting the pieces back together before it beats you further and turns those pieces into confetti that you can't do anything with. The illness often strikes without warning. Jobs change. People move on or worse
yet, die. Life can turn around with one phone call. I've seen it happen in the blink of an eye and can tell you from experience that we should take nothing for granted and look for the possibilities in every situation.

Do you know how much time I was given to "adjust and deal" with my job move two years ago? Absolutely none! It was welcome, now get to work. You have regulations to draft. You have things to integrate into the database. You have forms to reformat and 42 boxes of files to scan into our database and 2 websites to help our IT staff set up for your programs because you're the one that knows this stuff and we can't help you because we need YOU to help US get it integrated into our system and tell us what it is so we can tell you how it will be from now on. The move was about a third of the work. There was plenty of heavy lifting after that, so to speak, and they made it clear that they expected me to not only rise to that, but to everything else set before me. And you know what? I did it. Sure, there were times when I broke down and came home saying "I can't DO all of this!" But I went back the next day and with enough "next days" and more hard work than I ever thought I was capable of, it got done and continues to get done every day.

And you know, a funny thing happened. I found the courage to submit my writing to epublishers again and by golly, two books got accepted. What the hell, I thought. I moved two programs. Why can't I publish two books? Why can't I be an independent author? I've always wanted to be a writer and this is my chance to be one. And I did it. I keep writing because I learned to step out and be bold and proactive in pursuing my writing goals from being pulled up by my hair at my day job. Reality punched me in the gut in one area, and by rising to that challenge I found the courage to take on the challenge of pursuing a personal dream in another area. Life's funny like that if you learn how to accept your situation and take advantage of every opportunity you find, no matter how big or small.

My point here is not to say nah nah, look at me and how I made it work. I hesitate to say it "worked" even at this point. Rather, I see the situation as "I continue to work hard and grow" because I am still learning and growing. It's a lifelong process. I still learn at work, and I'm still working on new writing projects and to build an audience for my published work. It's still a lot of hard work on both fronts. My point is that reality doesn't hit the pause button to pat you on the back and say "there there, take some time to eat ice cream and watch reruns of Supernatural (or whatever show you like) until you feel strong enough to deal with this." Reality is a witch (another PG-13 term for what I really think it is). It just happens and it doesn't care what you like or feel about anything.

I was raised with the "if the Lord brings you to it, then He brings you through it" truth, but this is a truth that we have to learn. It's not something ingraned in our psyche. Fear and helplessness are ingraned in our psyche. We have to learn that faith that we can face it. We have to learn to find that strength within ourselves to rise to what life brings. We have to learn to do the hard work, and to face the pain and struggles with the courage of a lion even if we feel like jelly inside. We learn by standing up to it and working through it. And folks, that doesn't come from taking an ice-cream and Supernatural rerun festival break to sob and wipe our tears while complaining of the injustice of it all. Life isn't fair. We have to learn to stand in the face of that. We have to work with the situation and figure out how to pluck out the opportunities in this "not fair" situation to work it out for our good and put ourselves on a journey to something better in the end.

We can heal. We can adjust. But more often than not, we have to do it on our feet. We have to heal while we move forward becauser stagnation brings further consequences and suffering that are completely unnecessary and can be avoided by acceptance and hard work.

So no, I call bullcrap on the "wait until your ready" mentality. Reality doesn't care if you're ready. It just happens. We do ourselves a greater favor by standing up to it sooner rather than later.

That's all today. Take care.

Bye!

What America Really Needs

9/21/2012

All this political debate gives me a headache. Truth is, I’m not happy with any of the candidates and there’s been so much arguing and nonsense flying around that honestly, I ceased to care. It was that or let it run my blood pressure up and folks, it’s not worth that.

Why are we in so much debate over what America needs? I think it’s because America itself doesn’t have a uniform set of needs. America is made up of individuals and our needs vary as much as the socks behind the
dryer – they don’ t match and they come from all over the place. Here are 10 things that my corner of America needs:

1. Jobs and a better economy. Well, duh. Maybe that’s one thing we agree on.

2. Three day weekends and four day work weeks. Because a 2 day weekend just isn’t enough time to do all you want/need to do. Heck, most people argue for Fridays but I’d take Mondays. Just one more free day would be a blessing for us 30 and 40 somethings with iPhone calendars that look like they have chicken pox from all the dots for meetings/appointments/commitments and etc.

3. Less reality TV and more sci-fi and fantasy. Ax the talk shows too. I’ll be generous and leave the soaps, news shows, and syndicated sitcoms for variety.

4. A federal mandate that we go digital by, like, tomorrow. Paper sucks and takes up too much space. We’re
killing trees folks! Computers aren’t the devil. You can learn it. Stretch the brain and save yourself papercuts.

5. Make telemarketing illegal. Period. Forget the do not call list. Just make it all a felony.

6. While we speak of illegal, is there a logical reason why gas needs to be over $2.00 a gallon? Oh, spare me the economic mumbo jumbo. I said logical. I contribute to some oil executive clearing multi-billion dollar profits every 2 weeks when I go to the gas station. Now how are those profits related to supply and demand (besides the demand for the executives to have big profits)?

7. Write off pets on your taxes. Because too many people abuse animals and I think those that make the
investment of providing them with the care and life they’re supposed to have should be rewarded.

8. Along those lines, I think the penalties for hurting animals should be exactly the same as they would
be for hurting a human being. A dog, cat, bird, or horse is just as alive as I am. So why a $20 fine and slap on the hand for hurting them and death penalty case for hurting a human? The people that hurt humans usually started by abusing animals. Throw them in the slammer for killing an animal and they won’t be out there to hurt kids. Or anybody else for that matter. Because we got the hint that they completely disrespect the sanctity of life when they hurt an animal and we did something about it sooner rather than later.

9. Terraform Mars. Because at 7 billion and climbing, it’s getting a wee bit crowded on the third rock from the sun. Ok, that's not confined to America, but we should be leading in research, development and planning to extend our reach to the stars.

10.Get rid of standard time. We’re only on it for 4 months a year. Chuck the twice a year clock reset and leave it daylights saving time year round. Because really, nobody likes it being dark at 5:30 p.m. in the winter anyway. Face it, we’re trying to phase it out anyway. Let’s just do it already.

So that's it - 10 things I think our candidates should be talking about instead of the nonsense they're spewing every day. But of course, that's just my opinion. And we all know that doesn't count - until election day, anyway.

Happy Friday to you folks. Have a great weekend.

Bye!

Oh, The Drama!

9/19/2012

A recent outbreak of drama led Rick and I to ponder the source of problems recently. We realized that the totally out-of-left-field things that hit you without warning and turn your life upside down are actually pretty rare. In fact, as I look over my own life, I think I can only think of 2 or 3 instances when my life was smashed to smithereens and there was absolutely no avoiding it. At 37 years old, I think that's a testament to how rare the "rebuilding your life" seasons are. Thank God, too. Because if such things happened frequently then I'm not sure there would be a single sane person on planet Earth over the age of 30.

The thing is, it seems like people have problems all the time. I mean, it's never ending, and there are some that live in a constant state of drama. Life is one series of battles after another. Well, if the turning life upside down occurances are rare, then what is it that creates all this drama? The answer is simple, and it's none too flattering. All that drama boils down to one thing and one thing alone:

People making bad decisions.

Yep, that's it. Most of the problems we face on a day to day basis boil down to a simple matter of somebody making bad decisions. Even some of the most complex problems can be drilled down to the fact that somebody, somewhere, made a bad call. Sometimes it's that we make bad decisions. We don't plan ahead. Or worse yet, we make our decisions based on the #1 worst decision maker in existance - our feelings. We know what's right, or what we should do, but it's trouble, or it's a hassle, or we just don't like it, so we don't do it. Emotions get people in more trouble than anything else on Earth, and I'd be willing to wager a large percentage of what I have that most of life's problems stem from doing what feels good instead of what's right. I could write a doctoral dissertation on this, but fortunately for you, dear reader, that's not my purpose here. My purpose is to address this at the simplest and most basic level.

Sometimes the bad decisions are made by others, and you suffer for them. I've often said the greatest injustice is suffering for other peoples' mistakes, and it happens way too much. If you have any kind of relationship with other human beings, you know what I mean (especially if you work). Other people do something completely senseless, or don't plan, or create emergencies and they call on you to help fix the problem. These situations are not only annoying, but they destroy relationships too. And even if the relationship isn't destroyed, it's severely wounded to a point that it will take longer to recover than anybody is comfortable admitting.

The good news is that there's a simple cure to this. If problems are caused by bad decision making, then what's the logical way that they're solved? Say it with me, kiddies: "Doing what's right." Wisdom and discernment can help you work your way out of a pickle AND has the added benefit of preventing future drama because you learn from your experiences and don't make the same mistake twice. It harkens back to the old saying "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." You just have to be able to look at the situation in the face of the reality it exists in, determine what the right thing to do to fix it is, and do it. Three step process: analyse, assess and act. I even used some handy alliteration in there so it will stick to the memory.

I think it's worth pointing out that The Bible has an entire book called Proverbs that's dedicated to the virtues of wisdom. It's no joke, folks. Wisdom is often overlooked as a virtue, but it's probably the most important thing we can have besides our health. I'd even go so far as to say that wisdom will get you further than intelligence.

As for me, I know how to deal with the drama. When people start freaking out, it's worth remembering that the world hasn't ended yet due to peoples' problems. No, this old rock hasn't seen an armaggedon mistake yet. And to borrow a line from Nick Fury in The Avengers - we'll continue saving the world from until such time as the sun stops rising. Or something like that. Heck, I'll be able to tell you next week when it comes out on DVD, BlueRay, streaming video and all those other fun formats for the home.

And for all of you dealing with drama or problems in any way, shape or form, below is a silly video to help cheer you up and put it into perspective. Enjoy!

That's all today. Take care.

Bye!

Things Gone By

9/15/2012

Rick told me today that he misses going to football games sometimes. We used to go to the University of South Carolina football games "back in the day," but quit years ago. It got too cost prohibitive, the tickets were too hard to get (and too expensive when you could get them) and frankly, we don't care for crowds any more. We decided years ago that it was much more pleasant to watch the games on TV from the comfort of our home, where we can sit in comfort and simply turn off the TV when the game is over without battling crowds and traffic getting out of there. But still, that twinge of missing it hits from time to time.

Such is the nature of life, I suppose. I once read that you can have it all, but you can't have it all at the same time. I believe this is true. Things come and go out of life everyday. Change is the name of the game, and while it usually leads to progress you sometimes lose things dear to you. And sometimes, you don't realize how much you appreciate those things until they're gone.

One good example in my life is the job transfer I went through a couple of years ago. Things are much better, and I'll be the first to say that I (and my programs) are better off where we're at. This was definitely progress, and my learning and growth through that process was so exponential that it was unbelievable. Not only has my job grown and progressed, but I took what I learned to my writing and it helped me get established and moving in the area of getting published as well. It was a lot of hard work, but I can't even begin to count the blessings that came out of that move. My commute is shorter, I'm happier, and I've met a lot of great people and made new friends. But still, there are days when I miss things from the old job. Conversations with old friends, and the walks on the grounds during lunch breaks. The subs in the canteen on Tuesdays and Fridays that I still haven't been able to find anything close to. How easy it was to run by Zesto (a favorite chicken and burger place) on the way home from work on Fridays. A bigger cubical (or having my own office, if I care to go WAY back to the building we were in before that one!). It seems it's the little things that get to me. Oh, it's been 2 years and it doesn't happen as often as it used to, but that wistfulness for those little things still happen from time to time.

I could go on about dozens of other things that have gone by: Family members and friends that have passed on or moved on, stores and resturants that have closed, exciting times and seasons that came and went, the great schedule I had my senior year in college, working part-time, hobbies and activities I used to enjoy that are no longer available or that I gave up due to life constraints. I think the point is that the changing nature of life means that nothing last forever. It's natural for things to pass out of our lives and to miss them from time to time. Letting go is one of those hard life lessons that we all must face.

And I'm not sure why, but it seems that the change from summer to fall is when missing those little things gets to me. I guess it's that approach of the final months of the year that makes you notice the passage of time and take stock of what was, what is, and what might come.

Yes, I understand what Rick means when he says he misses going to football games. It happens to us all. I have those days when I say "wow, I'm so happy with life, but it's a shame that this person or that place isn't still around." It's ok to miss those things, as long as we give thanks that they were here for a season to enrich our lives and remember to be greatful for the blessings we have right now.

That's all today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Bye!

Catching Up is Hard to Do

9/14/2012

That's the hardest part of traveling, you know. No matter how well you plan, there's always a mountain of work to catch up on when you come home. The world doesn't stop for anything,does it. Heck, it doesn't even know where the "pause" button is. I know, because I've been looking for it for 4 days! Then there's the whole problem that people are impatient and think they should all be your #1, top priority.

No rest for the weary, eh? But somehow, I've managed to edit roughly half of Move this week. I can't honestly call that work, though. I love my writing and this project has been a fun one all along, so it's really ben a stress reliever (and a joy) to work on that manuscript. I can already tell that book project will be a hard one to let go of. I could piddle and tweak it forever, which is why I've had to force myself to set a target completion date of Halloween for this writing project. Otherwise, I'd keep working at it forever. And such is the mind and life of a writer.

Anyway, I've learned to be patient with myself when the workload explodes like this. That's the most important thing, because others - well, their ability to be patient and grant you grace depends on things outside your control, but they will notice very quickly if they can pull your strings. Being patient with yourself is a way of standing firm, setting priorities, and not allow others to walk all over you.

Unfortunately, that's why I haven't been as up to date on my blogging, and I apologize. As a way of thanking you, my readers and friends, I'd like to make you a special offer. This weekend only - September 14-16, 2012, I'm offering my mystery novella, Quarantine, to you for FREE at Smashwords. That's right, FREE! Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88323 and enter Coupon Code TP67H. And if you don't have an ereader, no worries. You can get the Kindle, B&N or iBooks app for free on these devices and download it to the app. So don't just sit there - go get it! The offer expires at midnight Monday (September 17).

So Happy Friday to you. Enjoy your weekend - and a free ebook on me!

Bye!

San Francisco

9/9/2012

If you've been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that I was in San Francisco on business the past few days. As usual, it was some updates, some silliness, and some pondering on the meaning of it all (but not too much of that). It was suggested that I post a rundown of the trip through social media, but I thought it would be easier to just do a blog and send the link around. And so, here you are.

All in all, it was a good trip. I see why so many people wanted to go, and said I was lucky to be sent there. San Francisco is a beautiful place. I was fortunate that it was sunny the whole time I was there. They said they were having great weather. The temperatures were in the 50's day and night, which was a bit of a shock to me, coming from 90 degree weather and high humidity - but I have to admit that it was a refreshing break from summer. I took a bus tour after my meetings ended Friday and saw more of the city. It's beautiful and the people are very friendly. I definitely wouldn't object to going back. In fact, I'd love to take Rick there sometime. I think he'd really like it, and I'd like a chance to see more of the city myself.

The conference was great as well. We had representatives from 37 states there and I got to meet a lot of great people. Sorry I can't outright mention my board - you know, conflict of interest stuff with me working for state government and all forces me to keep it general - but I can say that it was a great group and I really enjoyed having a chance to get to know my own board members and members and counterparts from other states as well. In a way, it's a shame that the department will only send 1 employee to the meetings. There's something about going to these that widens your perspective and makes you have a deeper appreciation of "the meaning of it all" that you just can't get across in a 5 minute report at a meeting back home. I do wish more of my colleagues could experience what I did over the past few days. And I enjoy meeting and talking to people too. It's interesting to hear about their experiences and their stories. We learn so much from one another, and it's fun too. I see now why the interaction is so important. I think some of this harkens back to my previous entry about relationships. The professional ones are important too. You can talk on the telephone and email, but there's no substitute for being able to know them, and to put a face to a name or a voice. I kind of felt I had lost that "connection" to the people I serve when they no longer allowed me to give the registration exam (and now it's fully computerized, so that's gone bye bye for good), but I think I've gained that element back in a new way by attending these meetings.

It was also good to get out of the office. Sometimes it's refreshing to leave the office and do your work with a different group of people.

And for those that remember my report from Miami I have to tell you - yes, the food in San Francisco is MUCH better than the food in Miami.

I have relatively few gripes about this trip, but of course, life is life and nothing is perfect. Most of them were counterbalanced by other things, and I'll be honest enough to share them. First, of course, is that I missed Rick terribly. A 30-45 minute telephone conversation each day wasn't much in the way of staying connected, and the 3 hour time difference made it challenging to coordinate so I could make sure that I called when he was off work and I was out of conferences. I'm glad my parents could go with me, though. I wasn't alone and I haven't spent that kind of time with them since we got married, and I'm glad I was able to have this time with them. They really enjoyed the trip. But I missed Rick badly. I think this trip could have been a bang up great time if he had been able to come but alas, his work was not generous enough to allow him a few days off.

Second is that San Francisco is expensive. If you go, take plenty of money because you'll need it. And don't depend on your credit card either. Most places take it, but you get hit with the "cash only" thing at the weirdest intervals, so be sure you have it.

Public transit there is also a bit of a trick. Contrary to popular belief, they only have 3 trolleys running in San Francisco, and that's more of a tourism thing. If you want to get from Point A to Point B, a taxi is your best bet. Shuttles and buses are slow and I never found the BART thing they said they had (I believe it's some sort of tram system). Traffic is bad and parking is scarce and expensive where it exist, so a taxi is your best bet, and you know how expensive they can get. But the good news is that it isn't difficult to get a taxi, and they seem to want to help. As I said, the folks there are nice.

And last - Miami International has been beat as a nightmare airport by Salt Lake City. OMG. I didn't realize that was the major hub in the midwest. That place was like Walmart on Christmas Eve. Or maybe the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving. You couldn't get anywhere without pushing over 5 people. It was so crowded that I even had to wait in line to get a paper towel to dry my hands in the bathroom. Thank God our layover there was short. If I head back out that way, I'm going to try to connect through Minneapolis like I did on the way out. That worked out good. And Miami, you have officially been reclassified as reasonable.

So that's a rundown of the trip. Good, productive, I met and reconnected with a lot of good people, but it's always good to be home. And I think traveling gives you a greater appreciation of home too. Somehow, laundry, grocery shopping and car repairs don't seem quite as annoying today as they did a week ago.

Well, this entry is long enough so I'm signing off. I hope you have a great week.

Bye!

The Most Important Thing in Life

9/4/2012

I was talking to our former associate pastor about a year ago and he said something that changed my entire perspective on life. I was telling him how I got overwhelmed with all my responsibilities sometimes, and how it seemed like there were too many things in my life for me to keep up with. Maybe, I was musing, I need to do some pruning to thin things out so I can focus more attention on what I like best.

"Maybe so," he said, "but remember that relationships are the most important thing in life. When you look back on your life it's not the work you did or the accomplishments that will be the best memories. It will be the time you spent with people that you love and care about."

That shocked me into a realization. Although my relationships are the most important thing to me, it seemed I was spending a lot more time "doing stuff" and not enough time with other people. My actions and my heart weren't in alignment.

Since then, I've made an effort to get things right. I've had to drop some activities, and it looks like increases in my work responsibilities will require me to scale back on my voluneteer activities. I'm not happy about this, but I know from experience that life can change (and change quickly), and I have no fear that the season of my life will change and make it possible for me to resume these things in the future. I've also put limits on how much time I spend on my writing. I figured that when I'm working on a project, I can devote about 2 hours a day without too much disruption to my home life, work life, or other things I want/need to do. This has actually worked out to be more productive for me, because before I was on the computer every night, trying to write and chase down promotional opportunities. Limiting myself to 2 hours a few nights a week forced me to focus my efforts, and I've actually been much more productive. And yes, I do even have "no laptop" nights, when I put it away after work, or don't take it out at all and spend time on other things.

Looking back over my life so far, I realize already that he was right. I know I have a purpose to fulfill, and I still love my writing, hobbies and church work. But the times that stand out in my head aren't work - they're experiences I've had with others. Time spent with Rick and the birds, with family and friends, at church and through social interactions with my colleagues. The best things are more about the "who" and less about the "do."

I have to admit that it was some of the best advice I've ever had. I'm not so stressed out anymore because I'm not literally working away every minute of every day. Because even if you love the work, there's no joy in constant labor. The joy is in balancing things out, and unless you nurture your relationships then there's no way anything else is going to work out well.

That's all today. Busy week with business travel, so it will probably be next week before I can update again. Take care and have a good week.

Bye!

Welcome Fall or End of Summer Blahs?

9/1/2012

Ah, Labor Day weekend - the unofficial last weekend of fall. How do you feel about that? Do you say "welcome fall" and embrace the change of seasons, or are you a bit blue that summer's waning?

I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's been a brutally hot summer. It was nice to have Isaac bring in some more moderate temperatures last week, but it has been warm again yesterday and today. Not that I mind the hot. I'd rather sweat than shovel snow anytime. But it is nice to have temperatures a bit more moderate. Human beings can live in 80 degree weather. But 110? Not so easy.

It's also kind of nice being able to go out to lunch again without every place being so crowded. With so many people "out and about" between school being out and traveling, I had to cut back on going out to lunch because I couldn't get in and out of places in an hour during my lunch break. Running errands was tricky too. It's nice to have our population sufficiently spread out so that it's possible for me to eat out or pick up a few things at the store during my lunch break without having to stress over getting back to the office by 2. And I'm talking about places right around the corner from my office!

But on the other hand, I am sad that summer's ending. Spring and summer are my favorite seasons. I like the warm weather, and the long days. It's already getting dark noticably earlier than it was a few months ago. The bluebirds have moved out of the birdhouse and won't be back. The rose blooms are smaller. And the cicadas don't chirp nearly as much as they did. There is something a bit melancholy about things winding down.

Not that there's anything wrong with fall. People are back on a routine, so there's less stress with "covering" for vacations - and when you do go out, it's less crowded. There's also college football and fall festivals and TV shows starting their new seasons soon. I have to admit that the reruns are getting old.

I changed some of the house decorations from summer to fall yesterday and it was a mixed bag for me. It was sad to put the roses away, but the fall bouquet is an inspring spalsh of color in that entry way - the yellows and oranges just look great and are a nice change of pace. And switching from roses to apple cinnamon isn't so bad either. It's nice to have something different. There are, after all, merits in every season.

That's all today. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Be safe, have fun, and enjoy an extra day off.

Bye!