RAMBLINGS August 20ll......................

By Diane Sawdon

I have two favorite times of the day. I am, and have always been, a morning person. I am up and ready to go as the sun stretches and begins it’s early morning crawl into the sky. At that moment, I feel like the entire day in front of me is mine and mine alone. I can do whatever I choose to do with the hours and minutes set before me. While this is usually not the case~~~most days I am committed to other’s whims and demands, I have, deep inside of me, the feeling of ownership for whatever few moments belong to me. I covet these hours alone in the garden. I am there with Mother Nature and her creatures. It is usually quite silent at this time of the morning. Birds are singing and the grey squirrels are chattering to be fed by my husband. If the ponds are running, the water jumping and rolling over the rocks is a peaceful backdrop to my musings. All too soon, the sun bounds up, high in the sky, and the spell is broken. The day must begin. Maybe I could steal just a few more seconds for another cup of coffee while I sit in the gazebo at the bottom of the ponds.....................

As for my other favorite moments of the day, it would have to be when the sun is dropping low in the sky on the other side of my world. Mother Nature is closing the curtains. Again, some peace seems to return to my earthly circle. The hours and minutes seem to be totaling up the gains and losses of the day. What I always hope for, is to be left with a positive feeling~~that the day and what I did with that day meant something to someone. I always know when I have achieved this goal and so often it is the simplest action in a busy day that puts my frame of mind in the positive column.

And now we are in the month of August. Where did the summer go?? It rained in June and The Fourth of July is a fleeting memory. School begins this month~~yes, this month. Dinosaurs, like me, remember when school began after Labor Day. Not anymore! My two oldest granddaughters go back to school on August 10th in the heat of a Fresno Summer. How did Number Two Kiddo become old enough to enter Kindergarten?? And Number One enters Second Grade. Nana is getting older by the moment. I hope you find your favorite moments of the day and take pleasure in their offerings to you. Enjoy August~~aren’t these the “dog days of Summer?”