Change of Seasons

Autumn is priming the pump in Charleston. The days still warm up, but there are several that start and stay cool. Evenings are lovely. The windows are open.

In Oklahoma, it seemed as if we had one or two false starts to fall. Two to four days would be cool, maybe even a touch chilly, but then the fifth day would warm right back up for another week or two before it cooled down again and eventually stayed cool. Someone told me the weather does that here, too, they guessed. But to me it seems more like a preparation than a false start, reset the timer, and line up at the starting blocks to try again.

And with the change of seasons in my new home, I'm changing too. Getting settled. Transitioning. Learning new patterns.

For instance, today I went to the local, annual Friends of the Library booksale, and I didn't buy everything that I thought I might want to read sometime. The "sometime" books I can store at the library until I want them. I didn't even buy the one I was tempted to just because I knew it's a great book (the 1998 edition of The Care and Keeping of You, in case you wanted to know, a good approach to preteen girls on what changes their bodies are going or will go through and how it's perfectly normal...if memory serves). I will admit, I had to have a little help recognizing that, no, I did not need to own a copy of that one.

But this boarder hoarder is learning. Yes, I have a bookshelf now, so yes, I have a place to put more books, but that doesn't mean I need or even want to fill the whole thing up to brimming. Honestly, I don't think I ever want my life to be that full of just stuff again. And so, I kept my purchases down to favorites I was looking for and favorites I didn't already have that I would like to have on hand.



Then I went to the craft store, and my delight in the autumn season came forth. So many decorations! So many options! Forty percent off!

But, I kept it simple. Not more than I could carry. And not more than I had immediate design and purpose for--I can go back for more of their tempting, fun supplies when I have specific plans. All I wanted was just enough to spruce things up. Just enough to have something nice without ever coming close to the overwhelming it's-too-much-to-do-so-I-won't-do-anything mark.

Abundant pleasure from a few things.

Yes, I think my season is changing too.