The nor’easter is almost done. It is not raining now, and the wind has become a breeze. The sun has returned, and it is warm at 67°. Mother Nature has had her fun. We’re left with light rain and maybe a drizzle; however, the flood warnings do continue for tonight and tomorrow. The waves today could get as high as 17 feet. The wind tomorrow will only be 5 miles MPH, probably having worn itself out from all that blowing. It feels a bit like the end of a sci-fi movie about nature having decimated much of the Earth. The survivors have come out of hiding to find a ruined world, but the sun will shine again. My neighbors are on their deck. They are Jamaican. I can hear singing and conversing in Patois. She’ll cook later, and with the deck doors open I’ll be tantalized by the aroma of her food cooking. I can hear birds. The dogs are out despite this being their morning nap time.

When I was a kid, this was just about my favorite time of year. I loved the mornings. I loved walking to school and watching the leaves change color. The afternoons were still warm enough for playing outside. Halloween, a highlight of the season, was on the horizon. I remember lamenting, though I didn’t realize that was what I was doing, that the afternoons were getting shorter and shorter. It seemed as if we were outside for only a minute before the street lights came on, and every mother yelled out the door at what seemed like the same time. All of a sudden the yards and streets were empty.

The only person I knew who had been to Europe was my father, compliments of the navy during World War II. During one of our trips to Europe we went looking for places he had been. He didn’t remember much. He was only 17 when he went into the navy. He remembered Plymouth, England the most as he had been hospitalized there for quite a while after his ship had been sunk. On another trip, the one where my sister had joined us, we followed the World War II trail through Belgium and stayed in Bastogne. He was thrilled. He kept up a running commentary. Every time we passed Malmedy he spoke about the massacre. He wanted a picture of tank traps we coud see in the woods so I got sent. Little did we know how muddy it was. I got stuck in the mud, and when I pulled out my feet, my shoes stayed. I carried them to the car.

I vacuumed upstairs as soon as I woke up. I was tired of the dust balls in my bedroom, the bathroom and the hall. After I had vacuumed the hall rug, I was surprised to see it was plaid. I have a couple of chores more, but because of my leg, I can’t haul bags and filled litter boxes to the car for the dump. That stays on my to do list until at least Thursday. I can see a lazy late afternoon on my list.

This entry was posted on September 27, 2026 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.