The sunshine laughed and danced all over my front step this morning as I carefully snipped a couple of pale pink roses blooming in happy profusion by my door.
I am not sure why those roses are still blooming, but I’lI just go with the fact it is one of those little miracles that often slip into our lives unnoticed.
I hear someone shout, ‘good morning,’ and I look across the road and there is my neighbour, her two kids and their dog, all waiting at the bus stop.
I saunter over, roses in hand for a quick chat. Before long, the big yellow school bus showed up and the kids climbed up the steps to the echo of their mom’s parting words, “I love you, have a good day.”
Yes, September has arrived.
It truly is hard to believe the end of summer is here when it is so incredibly hot. In fact, my best friend over the last few days has been my air conditioner. We had the air conditioner installed last year.
My husband has multiple sclerosis. MS is the kind of disease that keeps you guessing. What works? What doesn’t?
When the house got really hot even though I hadn’t turned the oven on to make bread (not that I would), we decided an air conditioner would make it more comfortable for him.
And it did. Luckily for me, I live here, too, and everyday I wake up and remember to be grateful for that air conditioner which keeps our house as cool as a cucumber.
Well, actually I do not remember to be grateful every day. Some days I wake up grouchy, even though we have the air conditioner. I’m like that.
Anyway, getting back to the changing seasons.
With fall only a strong wind and a crunchy multi-coloured carpet of fallen leaves away, it is time to settle into daily routines, establish healthy, good habits and set goals.
“September is like the new January,” my workout instructor told me. It was her way of gently reminding me that I had not attended workout classes for most of the summer and it was time I got back into the groove.
I hung my head in shame at her words. I know I had been sadly amiss at doing anything that required much physical labour at all this summer. Even the thought of lifting weights or going for a walk made me want to have a nap.
My daughter, bless her heart, rode her bike from Red Deer to Innisfail to meet friends for lunch the other day. Then she rode back.
“Oh, my goodness, you must be exhausted,” I told her, incredulous. “Not really,” she replied.
I had my bike out once this summer and that was to ride around the block and hope I didn’t fall off and if I did, hope that no one was watching.
Anyway, that’s all going to change now that September is here.
I am going to start working out more. Walking and lifting weights. My daughter, the fitness guru told me that lifting weights is even more important as you get older.
“You should also do squats, mom,” she said using her teacher voice on me. I hate it when she does that, but I listen anyway. “You need to maintain your balance. You do not want to fall.”
Well, I agreed with her on that. I did not want to fall.
Yes, it is good to set goals and exercise and eat healthy.
But just for today I will simply be grateful that summer is lingering just a little longer and my roses are still blooming, and I can sit on my deck on a morning drenched in sunshine and enjoy another cup of coffee.
Treena Mielke is a Central Alberta writer. She lives in Sylvan Lake with her family.