Dear Reader:
October is flying too fast….if I could be a witch (a good one, of course) and fly on my magical broom through the night…it would be to turn back the hands of time to October 1 and welcome this month again. (To have 31 days again to enjoy!)
The sounds and smells of this month can not be compared….crackling leaves, bonfires, bright redS, oranges, purples and greens splashing each leaf with its own identify. The smell of soups and pastas simmering on the stove…homemade breads with spices galore. And pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins in every possible and (impossible) marketable item.
This little beauty fell right by my feet walking up the steps to my porch Monday afternoon…it is my favorite leaf in the world, Eva Cate! (By its colors I think it is reminding us that Christmas IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER AND will be here before we blink!)
Robert Frost, in his poetic tribute to October, must have felt the same sadness at its annual demise as I am feeling… with the days scurrying along faster than the falling leaves.
October
BY ROBERT FROST
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES IS MY KIND OF GIRL….SOUL SISTERS IN OUR LOVE OF THIS SPECIAL MONTH.
SO UNTIL TOMORROW….LET US STOP AND HEAR THE CRACKLE OF LEAVES BEFORE THE TREE LIMBS TURN BARE.
“TODAY IS MY FAVORITE DAY” WINNIE THE POOH
* Yesterday I had lunch with Nancyjean Nettles and Ann Shahid (sister to a friend from Erskine/Ruth Beard)…It was so wonderful connecting the dots in our lives and realizing, once again, how connected we all are in this great big world!
*So glad I decided to stroll through FACEBOOK yesterday…I came across such a good-looking couple at the Francis Marion hotel for a wedding reception. Y’all dress up “good” Tommy and Kaitlyn!
*Kaitlyn asked me if I would send out a prayer request for her best friend (Madison) Aunt Keelie Farmer Gilden. She has endured chemo treatments that, in her particular case, are causing more problems than benefits. Madison and her aunt have checked into alternative treatments.
These treatments require insurance approval, which can be slow in coming, while her lesions are quickly growing. Please say a prayer for Madison and her Aunt Keelie that they receive approval rapidly to pursue a different path to restored health. Prayers for Keelie Farmer Gilden are appreciated more than you know and we all know God’s approval of Keelie is always there and on-going…no delays!
* When I saw this story on a morning show yesterday I just had to share it with you.
For five years Louise Edlen, in her nineties, would wait for bus No 7 (Arlington, Washington) to drive by and she would wave to the children on the school bus inside her dining room window. The school children soon started waving back and every new child, each school year, was excited to be on the special bus that received waves from their adopted “grandmother.”
Then, recently, one morning she wasn’t there to wave to them. Disappointed they told their bus driver who checked into the situation and discovered she had a stroke.
The children decided if she could no longer wave to them they would give her a picture of themselves on the bus waving to her until she got better. They saw this sign in front of her dining room window the next day.
Grandmother is hoping to return home soon to her school bus “children.”
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About Becky Dingle
I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents
were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my
grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old
Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended
Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters
Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am
presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also
taught at the College of Charleston.
For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy
matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of
stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message
through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret
of success in teaching social studies is always in the story.
I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest
teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re
ripe you rot.”
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
I love the Fall too! The changing of the leaves the sounds of the wind blowing around the leaves, and the smell in the air on a cool morning. God does bless us here in our little spot of the world with a long Fall before the cold of Winter sinks in. Fall and Spring my favorite seasons.
Prayers going up for healing!
I always enjoy your kind and insightful compassion!