Anyone else ready to drive a road that looks like this? Holy cow. I feel like I’m stuck in the eighth week of August and desperately want to be rid of summer.
Fall can’t get here quickly enough.
This photo is from several years ago on a road out of Thomas, West Virginia. That’s the gorgeous Blackwater Falls region if you’re familiar and I was there on Columbus Day. Most businesses were closed because it was Monday but the roads were wide open and I was delighted that this area was enjoying a vibrant fall foliage season.
I’m ready for pumpkins and sweaters, cozy blankets and the crunch of leaves under my feet. Not to mention the hot chocolate, azure blue October skies, and road trips to nowhere in particular.
There’s so much to see and do in October I feel like I need to rest up so I’m prepared to not miss a thing when it finally arrives.
The Reynoldsburg Ohio Half Price Books is in the flight path of the John Glenn Columbus International AirPort. I was there on Saturday and was delighted to see a few airplanes taking off.
As I stopped to admire a Southwest Airlines jet gain altitude over the parking lot, I couldn’t help but marvel over how human beings figured out the science and engineering behind flight.
How does such a large and heavy hunk of metal leave the earth? How does it stay in the air? Also, where is it headed? Who’s piloting the plane and where are all those people going?
I have so many questions and get truly excited every time I see planes taking flight or headed in to land.
But I was seemingly the only one to even notice there were planes. Life went on around me. No one else broke step or stopped talking for even a moment to notice these enormous jets bound for points unknown.
It made me think about all the times I have stopped mid hike to watch squirrels race up trees. The times I have stood in my driveway to gaze up at the stars or at a beautiful moon. How many times have I stopped to stare at a painting or pace around a sculpture that everyone else just walked by?
At the Franklin Park Conservatory, there’s an amazing glass ceiling crafted by Dale Chihuly. I could stand beneath that ceiling for hours but most people just walk by without a moment’s glance upward.
Am I just a weirdo for finding joy in these things? Or am I fortunate to hold this kind of wonder and curiosity for the world around me?
What does it take to get people’s attention these days? What makes people stop in their tracks and gaze at something with wonder and awe? What makes them curious enough to ask questions?
I was talking to a friend last night who has observed that many young people are mainly interested in what someone has told them to care about. They want a photo so they can check that thing off the list and dash off to the next thing someone on the internet has told them is a must-see.
Is this what we have come to?
Maybe I am a weirdo but I tend to think the world around us is full of wonders and miracles and things that deserve our attention, even if just for a little while. And I’m ok with being a weirdo if that means I always have something to think about and sometimes have a reason to feel my heart skip a beat.
And I probably do look like a weirdo watching planes from a bookstore parking lot but fitting in is highly overrated.
Everyone I know has been complaining loudly because this summer has flown by. I do not relate as it currently feels like I’m stuck in the eighth week of August with no end in sight.
Alas, it’s only August 14 which also happens to be my birthday.
I’ve had people suggest that I shouldn’t feel bad about my birthday. I don’t.
They say that 49 isn’t so old. Ahem. I agree.
“Next year is the big one,” they say. Isn’t every year a big one?
We don’t get that many birthdays and there’s no knowing how many there will be. Aging is a privilege not afforded to everyone and we should view each new candle on the cake as something positive. Those laugh lines? Reminders of happy days. The white hair I try to disguise? A sign of longevity. The creaky joints and bad knee? Battle wounds.
I have survived. I’m still here telling stories and figuring things out as I go.
I don’t feel pressure to have things figured out by now because I choose to view every day as an opportunity to learn and to do better if I can.
The world is my classroom and it’s a pass/fail grading system. I’m doing ok and I’m exactly where I am meant to be. White hairs, sluggish thyroid and all.
Is this the year I will finally write my book? Is this the year that I start traveling more regularly again? Is this the year I finally win that lottery that I never actually play?
Only if I try.
Trying is hard sometimes. Discipline and focus are hard. Remembering that our place in this vast world is quite small and that we need to earn our keep and maintain perspective is hard. Letting go of the desire to micromanage and to allow the chips to fall where they may is hard.
Today is my birthday. It’s the first day of the rest of my life. It’s also the first day of the rest of yours.
It’s my birthday and I’m inviting you to celebrate. Don’t celebrate my birthday. Just celebrate the day. Go learn something or go somewhere you haven’t been. Find some little diner and treat yourself to a big piece of pie or a dish of ice cream. Or both. Life is short.
Celebrate the first day of the rest of your life. The bank gives us our birthday off so I’ll be out enjoying mine too.
It’s not a classic car but it is a cool motorcycle on the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado. It’s also your Thursday reminder that life is not meant to just be survived. It’s meant to be lived.
So get to work on those evening plans or those weekend adventures!
Yesterday I found myself standing in front of a cashier in a big box store. She looked to be about sixty and had a pleasant demeanor. As is my habit, I asked if she was having a good day.
She said yes and then she launched into the story of WHY she was having a good day. In a nutshell, she said the quality of your day is up to you. It’s up to you to make it good regardless of your circumstances.
She admitted that she had just had knee surgery and her knee was hurting but she talked about how fortunate she is to be in her seventies and for that to be her only complaint. She listed the blessings in her life – her kids, grandkids, a roof over her head, a job – and no other ailments besides that knee.
She wished me a very good day and sent me out into the world feeling better about life.
Note that she is about fifteen years older than she looked and I am convinced that this attitude has kept her youthful and healthy. Internalize stress and it will ruin your life. Be able to acknowledge there are things in this world you cannot change and suddenly other people’s bad attitudes are not your burden to carry. Everything you have is suddenly enough.
The theme here at Make The Journey Fun is “you’ll be as happy as you make up your mind to be.” This is more of a mission statement than anything for me but this lady is the living, breathing embodiment of the idea.
Last October, my Wyoming pal and I found ourselves worrying about the dark skies ahead on a lonely stretch of highway somewhere between Casper and Cody.
We did run into some rain but it wasn’t bad at all. As the shower was ending, we stopped at a convenience store in Shoshoni in search of a clean bathroom and road snacks. When we stepped outside, we saw this rainbow.
We admired it for a moment and I grabbed a couple of photos because rainbows are special and beautiful no matter where they appear.
But I came home and looked at the photos with an honest eye: the street, vacant lot, and power lines really don’t make a great backdrop. I mean, I went all the way to Wyoming and this rainbow couldn’t have shown itself over a mountain or something?
Good gravy.
But I stand by my belief that rainbows are special everywhere and that even an ugly spot can be made nicer with help from nature. And what’s wrong with appreciating the world for what it is? Perfection is boring. Flaws create interest and spark conversation.
This isn’t a cheesy AI generated image or a carefully posed Instagram photo.
This is real life. While not always perfect, real life is pretty great.
Light and color illuminate the world and make the ugly bits that much nicer. And if we can’t appreciate the good when it’s improving a place, will we truly appreciate the good when it’s in just the right spot?
I’m going to stick with appreciating pretty things like rainbows wherever they may appear. Perfection is overrated!
