The deciduous leaves one sees so much of in the Midwestern part of the United States are few and far between here in central Florida. I miss the canopied riots of color hanging over the narrow rock wall-lined roadways of central Kentucky. The weather has shifted here bringing night-time temperatures in the mid-fifties and day time highs of 75 or 80; quite comfortable for a person who used to have on full-winter gear when I lived in Minnesota.
The swampy grasses on the roadsides have turned golden brown and there are some trees that only bloom in the fall that are lovely. I was about to buy a bag of clementine tangerines yesterday thinking I was supporting the local citrus economy but they were from California! What?! This was at one of those big box warehouse kind of stores so I will buy locally.
The "snowbirds" have arrived in full-flock. You know, those people who have a winter residence in Florida and come South for the warmth. I work in health care so we are seeing hoards of elderly check in with their primary care provider.
Checking in with our primary care provider should be in prayer first. Just go to God and thank him for whatever it is you need today. What ever it is, it can be smoother, more enjoyable, better when prefaced with a 'Thanks, will you help me with this?' In every thing, give thanks does not mean we rejoice when something rotten turns up. No, it just means that we can be thankful that God can assist, turn the situation around or eliminate the obstacle. Maybe we can find the obvious; what did not happen and could have. We had a narrow miss in traffic, we decided to go a different way home, we picked up that extra can of whatever and now an unexpected friend has come to dinner and you have it on hand.
I've been invited to the Thanksgiving table of friends of a friend so I will enjoy this. Many times, being single in large groups means you get all kinds of invitations during the holidays which is so kind. Here's my short list of being a good guest: show up on time, bring something with you besides your smile, don't hog the conversation and help with the clean-up. Be a good guest!
These folks are the parents of the girlfriend of my boyfriend's live-in girlfriend. Follow that? Actually, the parents are my age and we are all in the first few years of being "empty nesters". The children are in their twenties in age, forming forming relationships and the adults are either reforming their long-term marriages, or are on "seconds". My friend and I are delighted that our children are grown up, that our daily parenting is done. We have six between us between the ages of 18 and 30 and each one is a wonderful, delightful individual who we thoroughly enjoy from a short distance. Ever-available for assistance or conversation but you know what, we did a good job of making them independent! They don't want our opinions or our help. Once in awhile, conversation but more often than not, it is we who leave messages for them which go unreturned.
That's OK, we're all about fun, especially me and being new to the area.
While you have your recipe books out and the lists of groceries to buy for the big family gathering, along with your thankful-grateful list, here are some of my favorite fall pictures from my travel days. Enjoy and I'll be back soon!
