Autumn in August

Fall comes early here in the Columbia River Gorge, and, despite the calendar, there is a crisp end-of-summer feel to the air when I go out for the paper. The geese know and are already hurrying south, flying over the house at dawn and dusk. The cast of light changes and sunspots move across the carpet in a different pattern. Now, sitting with my second cup of coffee and a Baroque violin concerto playing on the stereo, it begins to dawn on me that summer is over and my “New Year” has begun.

The upcoming Labor Day weekend will make it official. Windy has been married for over two weeks, my 70th birthday has come and gone, and it is time to flip the calendar page. Classes at the college start soon and I will return to my part-time job from mid-September to mid-October. Perhaps that obligation will keep me from falling into the autumnal angst that torments me every year. There is something about back-to-school and change of schedules and setting the alarm again and putting in a new furnace filter makes me inexorably sad. Another year gone by. So quickly now the time disappears.

Already the stores have Halloween costumes and decorations up. Can Christmas be far behind? Holiday 2007 will be a joyous time for us as we await the arrival of Windy & Chris’ little girl. But the months from now until then will be an adjustment for me as Windy moves out and I feel once more the aloneness of living by myself.

This is the time of year I reflect on the past and set some goals for the upcoming months. Seven decades to look back on. Lots left to be done. Luckily I received two journals for my birthday and I will fill them with thoughts and dreams and memories. However, this morning I have to do some laundry and clean the cat box. The mundane chores keep me on track.