Changing Seasons

Last night we got the real McCoy thunderstorm. Thunder rattled the house and lightning lit up the sky and rain pummelled down. Jace and I sat in the living room together and just grinned at each other.

It's a perfect Friday night, Mom.

Sure is, Jace.

Yesterday as my co-workers and I took our walk around downtown Asheville, we noted how autumn is in the air. The trees are beginning to turn just a bit and the air has a briskness to it that it didn't have before. My word, I love fall. Sweatshirts and lit up gas stoves and chili with cornbread and the promise of the holiday season just around the corner. What's not to love?

This morning in my Inbox was an email from University of Phoenix. It was a bonified email--not an advertisement--and the person that sent it was asking if I had any continuing ed needs. A couple of years ago, I took some classes for my ELL certification. And so I sent her a quick reply, stating that I now work for the government and won't be in need of those types of credits--at least not anytime soon. And maybe...not ever.

Thursday nights Roy has caf duty which translates into a free meal for the family. I love Thursday nights as it gives me an opportunity to talk to staff and students and eat free food that I didn't have to cook and walk away without washing dishes. It's a beautiful thing. And so this past Thursday I ended up sitting at a table with Kara whom I taught Freshman English a couple of years ago. Kara is adorable--I've loved her from the start. We had a bit of a rocky beginning but once we got past the first week...oh my...she is a gem. Originally when I sat down at her table, it was alive with chatter and laughter as several of us squeezed together while we ate smothered burritos that were, I must say, divine. And then everyone started leaving one by one until it was just the two of us sitting across from each other.

"So what's your job?" Kara asked.

I gave her a really brief explanation that makes my job sound like the most boring job on the planet, and then she said, "So do you like it better than teaching?" And she looked at me with those big brown eyes that melt my heart.

"It's not that, Kara. I just needed a full-time position."

"Yeah. I understand," she said, blessing me with her gorgeous smile. Kara is a beauty.

This morning when I sent the email back to the rep from the University of Phoenix, I considered briefly sending her the email address for the person that took my place as I know that she's interested in getting her ELL certification now. But then I thought better of it as, really, it's not my place.

Life is all about change. Changing weather; changing careers; changing seasons. Days blend together, not one the same as the other, and yet, little by little, subtley,  each creates a different shade. I just read an article the other day--something that came in my email--about how the key to a successful life is learning to deal well with change. Change is force that, like gravity, is always present.

Every morning when I get in my car and drive off this campus at 7:00 a.m., I can't help but smile to myself. How blessed I am indeed. I love my job; I love where life has taken me and where I'm headed. There was a time when I couldn't imagine not being a teacher. It's what I went to school to be. I loved it, I lived it. It stole my heart.

But now?

Well, now I am no longer a teacher. But life is still ablaze with beauty. It's just a different sort of beauty.

It looks like today is going to be a beautiful day. The sun hasn't completely woken up the sky yet but it's getting there. The crickets are chirping and my flowers and plants are bursting with color from the rain. When I look out my sliding glass doors, I can still see the lush foliage that, soon enough, will be traded for the baren dead of winter.

The seasons are changing, and I, for one, can't wait to wear my Fish Creek sweatshirt and sit outside on my porch, roasting marshmallows over an open fire.