Autumn

It is late October. It is hard to believe that time passes so quickly. A friend once pointed out that as we age each day, each hour, each minute is a smaller percentage of our total time so time seems to pass more quickly.  He told me this when I was in my 30s.  Now that I am considerably older I believe he was right. 

The shorter days bother me because I have what is called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  Those who share this affliction know that absence of sunlight has an effect on us. Last Sunday was a dreary day.  The sun was not seen all day. After singing at the public worship of the Lord I came home and spent the afternoon reading the Sunday New York Times.  I didn’t budge from the chair.

Sophia the cat spent a similar amount of time lazing about.  She’s used to it, however.  I am not.  On Monday when the sun returned I paid the price for my lazy Sunday afternoon.  Time passes more quickly when one is older.  One day of laziness takes its toll physically when one is older.  It was much harder to get back to minimal exercising. Did I learn something? Yes. Don’t sit around all day and do nothing because you will pay the next day!

Even though it’s been a struggle I have maintained my exercise goal, and have returned to the fitness center to attend my classes.  It has been good to get back to a regular schedule.  I also was able to attend an OLLI class on jazz pianists. The church treasurer and I visited the bank and straightened out the Bookstore account switching it from one bank to the one used by the church for its other accounts. I dropped off the draft copies of my new will and powers of attorney and made the appointment for the signing of the new documents which also took place this week. That seemingly monumental task is over and done with. 

Two dear friends spent part of today dealing with the leaves in the driveway which have dropped since last Saturday.  It was the last day for the Farmers’ Market so I had to make a trip there to purchase the last of the vegetables for the season.  I know that everything is available all year in the supermarket, but the seasonal produce somehow tastes much better.

This last visit was somewhat bittersweet.  For many years I’ve participated in what is called a CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture).  It works this way:  Early in the year we pay an amount of money to the provider who uses our cash to purchase seeds and equipment needed for the coming season, and in return we get a more than equal amount of produce when the crops are harvested. I’ve supported one supplier without fail.  They have been using part of neighbor’s property to grow their vegetables.  Whatever happened, they are no longer able to use that land so they will not be offering their impeccably clean, organically grown vegetables any longer. I will miss them and their produce. I’ve stocked up on some squash, potatoes, onions, shallots and a few other things that will keep for a time. 

After the Market I stopped by a wonderful local bakery run by a former student and his wife. They lived in Paris for a time and brought back what they’ve learned to this fair city.  What they produce is simply fantastic. When I last visited there the former student asked me, as he always does, about how things are going.  I told him about the cancer thing. Today he cancelled my bill exclaiming that my money was no good. What a kind and generous thing to do for this old man.  It touched me deeply. I’ve always been proud of what he and his wife have done. Their younger son has suffered through a life-threatening illness and is now doing well. 

One of the friends who made the pilgrimage last week asked about pictures of the fall colors which she neglected to take on our journey.  It was peak season for colors in Wisconsin but they don’t shine as brightly through the rain drops. I’ll just include some Sioux Falls color in this blog posting. The city is really quite pretty at this time of year. Yesterday and today were good days with brilliant sunshine. 

This is the first of my two week “vacation” from infusions.  I have next week off as well and then will begin immunotherapy for the foreseeable future. I liked very much what a retired nurse told me this week. When I said my cancer was treatable not curable she told me that I will die with it not because of it. Somehow that made me feel much more positive.

Feeling well, friends collecting and bagging leaves, being treated by a former student, visiting with friends are things that have been treasures this week. I hold them in my heart and says thanks to God for all he has done for me.