Sunsets

I am thankful for many things, but a Facebook response this week reminded me how lucky I am to see spectacular sunsets and evening skies.

I'm not sure when my fascination with the sky began. As a child, I was turned off by my mother's constant comments about the sky, the trees, nature in general. I was a kid. My mother was 'square'. When we lived in Florida and my mother visited, she often commented on the cloud formations. Her eyesight was not good, but she could pick out those towering cumulous thunderheads. My oldest daughter was also fascinted with night skies. She would take us outside to look at the moon through binoculars, or to follow meteor showers and shooting stars. Somewhere in my adulthood, weather and the sky became very important to me.

The first apartment my husband and I lived in had a great western view, and consequently, great sunsets. We have lived in many places, but not many have given us that same view. One house in Florida faced west and I probably began my true appreciation of the afternoon light in that house. We had spectacular sunsets with an unobstructed view there.

In this house we are also blessed with fantastic sunsets, and evening skies. One of my favorite winter views is the one where the sky is crystal clear. As the sun sets, the upper sky is a deep dark blue, fading to a clear light blue on the horizon. The trees are outlined and an evening star appears. There is a thin line of orange just on top of the horizon. It is an exquisite sky.

Earlier this week I wrote about a 'dreary day'. At the end of that day the weather began to clear.

The rain ended and the clouds began to lift. As the sun dipped low on the horizon it burned through the clouds. It looked like the sky was on fire!

It reminded me that at the end of every difficult time can come a time when life is spectacular. We may even feel like we are on fire. I am thankful for Sunsets (and sunrises if I was up early enough to enjoy them).  Heaven may not appear as a direct floodlight, but may come in at an angle lighting our path when we least expect it.

I am thankful  for two things. One, I am thankful that I can once again have that evening view. And two, I am thankful for sunsets. First of all, because they may not always be visible, but they are always there. Secondly, because they may come when we least expect them. But most of all, thirdly, because THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!!! God blesses the end of every day with a beautiful sunset. I am thankful for that.

A Dreary Day--I am Thankful for Music

Oh the weather outside is frightful! Sorry, that's a line in a song isn't it! Well, it was true one day this week. Outside it was cold and dreary, wet, foggy, gray... But inside it was lovely. My house was warm and dry. The lamplight brightened the room. Music on the CD player brightened my spirit.

Listening to music always brightens my day. I have the choice of rock and roll to get me moving, classical to soothe me, Christmas music to cheer me. Music has always been my 'mood altering drug of choice'. This week, it was Christmas music; everything from John Denver to Josh Groban, Mannheim Steamrollers to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

It may seem a little early to turn on the Christmas music, but I am in a church choir. Anyone who sings in a choir knows that Christmas music starts in September, when practice for the Christmas Cantata begins. It reminds me of the retailers. We complain about how early everything starts, but the truth is, if we want to be ready for the season, we have to begin our preparations way before the season.
As the leaves are turning, I am learning a new arrangement of Noel, or Ring those Christmas Bells. By the time the leaves have covered the ground and the trees stand tall and bare, that arrangement is on automatic replay in my mind.

So on a dreary day I have my favorite cup of tea on the cup warmer beside me. Andrea Bocelli is on the CD player. Maggie sleeps at my feet. I have much to be thankful for and Music is one of those special gifts in my life. I can't imagine a life without it. This would lead you to say "Then you must be thankful for your hearing." I am. But that is another post. Today I am thankful for music.

A Warm Bed

Back in the 1980's my husband and I bought a water bed. We had it for many years and one of my very favorite things about it was that it was warm when I climbed in at night. Since the mattress is filled with water, it must remain heated. Otherwise it is about as comfortable as a thin sleeping bag on very cold ground. Just like an electric blanket there was a gauge so you could keep the mattress warmer in winter and cooler in the summer. Every night I would slide between the sheets and feel this warmth enveloping me. In winter it was especially wonderful.

We lived in Central Florida for many years. In winter the homeless population grew as people migrated to a warmer location for the winter months. It was distressing to see men huddled around 'burning barrel's under bridges in the winter. While we rarely had below freezing temperatures, it could get quite cold at night. On those few nights when the temperatures dipped below freezing shelters would open up to give the homeless a place to get in out of the elements.

On those nights I would slip between the sheets on my water bed. I would feel the cozy quilt on top, but underneath me the warmth of that bed would welcome me. And every night I would say a prayer of thanks to God that I had the security of a home, and a warm bed to sleep in. I would say a prayer for those who were cold that night that they would find a place to keep warm.

I still say that prayer every night. A warm bed is one thing I just don't take for granted. I am so grateful everytime I pull the covers around my head and snuggle into my pillow. If someone asked me what I was thankful for and I answered, "A warm bed", they might think I was being silly, but I know why I am so grateful for it. There are too many people these days who have no such thing.

Tis the Season....

...to be thankful. Thanksgiving is the time of year we set aside to specifically be thankful for our blessings. Some families take the time before that big family dinner for each person to say what they are thankful for. In actuality, I find that rather difficult.

Make no mistake. I am a grateful person. I am thankful for almost everything in my life. One thing I am very thankful for is that I have the type of personality that is contented. I don't fret over trivial things. I don't worry (very often) about things I have no control over. I don't project my fears of the future into my daily life. I recognize that my life is good. I don't live close to my kids or grandkids, but I have a wonderful relationship with them and the freedom to visit them when I want to. It doesn't get better than that!

But when I am asked what am I thankful for, I stumble over the question. Do I list the obvious? Health, family, love, financial security. (OK, that last one really IS something in this day and age to be VERY grateful for.) Or do I list the trivial?

I think it is important to recognize both. When we focus on things like family and good health, we consciously give thanks for the most important things in our lives. It takes our minds off the mundane, everyday concerns and allow us to recognize what really matters.

But when we are grateful for everyday happenings, it gives us a chance to recognize how lucky we really are, right now, for.... whatever it is we are grateful for. A month or so ago, I wrote a post called, "An AHA Moment" when I suddenly realized how very lucky I had been to see the Beatles and Paul McCartney in concert many times, when many people had never seen them at all. That was a great moment for me and allowed me to see the treasure of my everyday life.

I will try in the next week or two to make several postings recognizing specific things in my life I am thankful for. Some will be the important ones. But I want to really notice the small things I take for granted that make my days special. The trivial things I am thankful for. Check back, and feel free to share some of the things you are thankful for...big or small!

In the words of Andrea Bocelli, who's Christmas CD just finished on my CD player, (as well as Tiny Tim) God Bless Us Everyone!

To Everything There is a Season.

This week we were out for a drive and it was obvious. Fall is nearing an end. The groomed lawns of summer and the luminous color of fall were past. In it's place was the wild landscape that comes with late fall. It carries a beauty of it's own.

Field grasses have gone to seed.

An occasional flower defies the fact that summer is over.

 Leaves lay in piles on lawns...

...and in flower beds

Early morning frost outlines each blade of grass.

As a teen on my way to school in the early morning I loved the look of the sun coming up over the brown fields, leaves, grasses. Everything had a glow to it that was beautiful. It is true. To everything there is a season. (Ecclesiastes 3) And each season has it's own beauty.

Halloween

Last night was Halloween and it is a fun night around here. Many of the neighborhoods have adopted a terrific custom of sitting outside during trick or treat. The first year we lived here it took us by surprise and we thought perhaps it was a Pittsburgh thing, but I've found many people who still stay in their houses and let the kids come to them.

In our neighborhood starting around 5:30 people start setting out their chairs and readying the pumpkins. Then just at 6:00 everyone appears. If the garage is facing the street, people will turn on their garage light and sit there, but the rest of us gather near the sidewalks with our bowls of candy and a beverage or two. If it's cold, like last night, we just bundle up for awhile. (The Florida folks may be a bit more  bundled than others!) If it's warm some neighbors may have a cooler by the candy bowl and pass out some cold beverages to the adults! Now, that's a neighbor! By half way around the block the dad's are usually ready for a refill!

Last night was cool, but clear. The sunset was gorgeous. The hill behind our house was picking up the colors with increased intensity. A small group of us gathered and just watched it change as the sun set. The sun's rays lit up the tree trunks, the fallen leaves on the hillside and the leaves still on the trees turning everything a flaming burnt orange. As the sun went down the orange turned to a rich burgundy. It was amazing. I wished I had a camera in hand but there wasn't time to grab one, and I doubt I could have caught the feeling so we just watched and enjoyed it.

Then we settled in as the first of the munchkins appeared. Maggie enjoys Halloween as well. Most of the kids like seeing her, but occasionally I back her away from the treat table while Larry hands out the candy to the more timid ones. A few people have parties after trick or treat and a couple of the visiting adults come by to make 'my annual visit to see Maggie'. She is famous in her own right.

Most of all what I love about Halloween here is the sense of community. A patrol car usually makes the rounds, lights flashing. Parents walk with the young kids but even the older ones are so safe. They are never out of sight of a neighbor as they go from house to house. Sitting outside for trick or treat has become one of my favorite new tradtions.