Autumn transition

Last week felt like a month went by to me. We had the autumn equinox, an eye-popping full moon, and the official start of fall. And the weather! Some heavy rain showers, a couple of cold days, and then a Friday afternoon when it almost felt like summer again.

I suppose this lurching from one thing to another often characterizes transitions. And just in case you're wondering how I'm doing with changing my habit, I'd say I'm successful about 65% of the time so far. That feels like winning!

At this time of the year I take particular pleasure in watching the sun rise. I suppose that's because it pops over the horizon at a convenient time in the morning for me. Plus, we're fortunate enough to have an east-facing window in our bedroom. For a few moments I can pause the getting-ready-for-the-day rush and open myself to the upliftment of the sunrise.

Then of course there's the amazement that comes with the glory of the autumn colours. I don't think I'll ever get used to the surprise, and the feeling of the warmth that begins to glow in me like a non-physical fire. I have to acknowledge once again what a wonderful gift it is for us, that we can experience and live with the changing seasons.

Thieves of time

Procrastination, they say, is the thief of time. Sometimes I procrastinate, sometimes I don't. Mostly I have to find what feels like a good moment to do something that needs attention. A couple of my friends jump in straight away. For instance, you tell them someone wants them to phone and they pick up the handset straight away. Another friend might send an immediate email from her phone.

I might be envious at this quick reaction, but I'm also horrified by the thought. Mea culpa, maybe.

However, that's not really the main thrust of this post. What I've been thinking about lately is all those lost seconds that occur when we're waiting on our computers... to boot up, to load a website, to open a word document, whatever. I wonder how many wasted minutes that might add up to in my day. So I'm trying to find small chores I can do meanwhile. Waiting for my desk top, I can tidy a couple of items, or dust the screen. What I've been doing with my laptop, however, is attend to my fingernails. This works pretty well because otherwise it's too easy to neglect them and then they grow into funny shapes, split and break, and those precious tools of mine (my hands) don't feel as good as they should.

I'm waiting for inspiration to find more minuscule tasks, ones that can be done while sitting.

Changing a habit

I was going to start this post by asking a question: Do you think it gets harder to change a habit as you get older? Then I decided this was a no-brainer (well, you did it anyway, sez she).

The thing is, my habit has been to bath in the morning. Lying in the water for a few minutes, I found, allowed my mind to float. Often good ideas, new thoughts or inspirations, would drift to the surface. Now, however, I don't to get up and going quickly and don't really have the time to do this. So I decided to change my bath time to the evening. (And yes, in case you're wondering, I do take showers from time to time. I just don't find them so relaxing, more like refreshing and stimulating.)

Years ago, when our children were little -- we only had the three then -- I did the same switch. No problem at all. At the time, the bedroom of the smallish house we'd built only had a shower, so I'd trek down the passage to the children's bathroom for my soak. I especially remember Sunday nights, taking my radio in there to listen to 'Lloyd let loose'. David Lloyd, bless him, was one of those announcers with a soothing, intimate voice who chose music I always enjoyed. Ah, how relaxing was that! Although, I can still see the psychedelic wallpaper in front of my eyes: pink and purple swirls, girls!! It was the Seventies after all.

But I'm not finding the change easy and revert every now and then. This means I have to woosh through the bathwater, which kind of takes the pleasure out of the experience. Nevertheless, I'll persevere and hope to change this habit... except maybe on the weekends.

This time of the year

This is what I call the Theresa time of year because I tend to find myself singing 'The summer is over, Theresa.'

Yes, my head is crammed full of old pop songs, going right back to the old ones my Dad used to sing. Some of these were silly, like 'Yes! We have no bananas!' I think I inherited the ability to remember the words from him. What a pity I didn't rather inherit his ability to memorize poems!

However, one of my best remembered images of him has to do with the last time he went out before he died at the age of 97. He got himself ready and shuffled down the long passage from his bedroom singing 'On the Sunny Side of the Street.' In a way, this summed up his life-philosophy and showed his courage and indomitable spirit. Although his name was Fergus, his close family members always called him 'Sonny'. I think the sound of that was appropriate.

Anyhow, now that the summer stupor is fading and I'm beginning to feel the new energy that crisp mornings and cooler nights bring, I'm ready to pick up the blog again. Right now, my intention is to get to it more regularly. Time will tell, folks!