It’s been a weird fall.
The natural order of things is just not happening.
Retail outlets seem to be confused as to whether to promote Halloween or Christmas.
And Mother Nature! What is going on with her?
True, summer came just like it was supposed to. We had sunshine and a little rain. We had days to watch our gardens grow and be proud.
It was good. Summer.
But then it ended like a sentence punctuated sharply by a period. Over. Done. Finished. And to make that point clear, Mother Nature dropped her first snowfall on us.
It took us all totally by surprise and many of us still are still mad about it.
The snow, which we weren’t expecting, came down, thick and hard, covering our cars, our windshields and our roads.
And eventually we came to realize that there would be no fall. We began the grieving process.
But, then, just when we had become resigned to the fact that fall, conspicuous by its absence, wasn’t going to happen; just when we had packed up our golf clubs and hauled out our scarves and hats and mitts, it got nice again.
The brilliant blue sky was tie-dyed with golden sunshine, hardly marred by clouds and the world seemed softer and kinder, somehow.
It was a misplaced season, but it didn’t matter.
It was here.
And the very best sight for sore eyes was the dust, the wonderful dust, caused by a flurry of combines as farmers paid homage to the land and gave thanks for a second chance.
Now with October almost over, I am confused again.
Is it Halloween or Christmas that’s coming up?
Already there are Christmas lights illuminating houses and yards.
Stores are already full of Christmas, except for Halloween stuff that has, almost, but not quite, been marched off the shelves.
As a true procrastinator, who hasn’t even bought her Halloween candy yet, I am truly confused.
And to make matters worse, we have to turn our clocks back. There has been a hue and cry about the time change in the past, but, apparently, it hasn’t made one bit of difference.
There will be no change. Well, there actually there will be a change. A time change.
The confusion of the seasons, the upcoming time change and the rush to bring in Christmas is unsettling.
And in the recesses of my mind, where I search for some kind of clarity, I am reminded of the Desiderata, found in Old Saint Paul’s Church, Baltmore in 1692.
An excerpt from the well known literature states:
“Go placidly amid the noise and confusion and remember what peace there may be in silence.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars,
You have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt, the universe is unfolding as it should.
That’s what the Desiderata says, anyway! It’s probably true, but it still seems confusing.