Has anyone seen October? It seems to have disappeared in an awful hurry, but not without leaving many, many traces of its being here.
I read a book once....don't remember the title, don't remember when I read it.....that described the perfect yearly calendar as having at least seven Octobers. I concur, though I'd put at least nine Octobers on my calendar (along with two Novembers and one March). Here in Minnesota October brings an autumnal beauty that nature cannot surpass any other time of year. It's not just the leaves changing color, it's the smell of the cool air, the sounds of migrating birds, the disappearance of summer bugs, the bright blue of a clear October sky. This year's October has given us eighty degrees one week, accumulating snow the next. Thunderstorm warnings early in the month, winter storm warnings towards the end. The most popular trick-or-treat costume this year could very well be a parka.
The desire to savor the thirty one days of such a rich and varied month never quite comes to fruition, and this year was no exception. Volleyball season came to a close last week, but not before devouring the first three weeks of the month. Less than a week later my basketball coaching duties started. Two-thirds of my daughters celebrate October birthdays, as does my mother. My parents' wedding anniversary is October 21, this year being their 50th - party time! The last garden offerings needed to be processed, and it was a banner year for the local apple trees. The newness of the September school days was replaced by the routine of the October school days. Bowhunting was again in the plans for the last half of the month so target practice was squeezed in as often as possible in the first half. The Twins made the playoffs (if you blinked you missed them) and the T-Wolves tipped off another season. I think I went...yes, yes I did go to a choir concert at some point. And tomorrow the month ends with the most painful holiday in a school teacher's life. Lots of days, tons of activities, very few idle moments for savoring anything.
Perhaps you can forgive me my absence from writing new posts for this blog. The intent has been real, the topic ideas numerous, the time limited. The march through each day - the job, the coaching, the family commitments - has been exhausting, driving any motivation to do what I'm doing right now far, far into the recesses of my tired mind. But when volleyball ended last Wednesday, and the anniversary party did the same on Saturday, two slices of time were returned to the pie chart of hours in each day. So brace yourself, reader, for the possibility of a post barrage coming at you on a variety of topics, such as:
**Hunting
**A volleyball wrap-up
**Hunting with a bow
**Why being a coach is better than being a teacher
**Why being a hunter is better than both of those
**From the kitchen of.....
**Hunting with a rifle
**Where would you rather be?
Thank you, October, for showing up on time each year. I'm sorry I got so busy these last 30 days...I wish you could hang around just a little while longer so I could take a long last look before we say goodbye. But since you can't stay could you kindly step aside so November could get rolling? The bucks are starting to rut and I really need Saturday, Nov. 4th to get here in a hurry. Thanks - see you next year.
