(Point of Reference: A "freeze" is to a "frost" what a "frog-strangler" is to a "rain shower".)
Last Saturday we cut firewood to length, picked the last of the apples, cleaned out the chimney, took down the rain gutters, yanked out what was left of the garden to close it in for winter.
And mowed the lawn for probably the last time.
And the next day we managed to somehow crawl out to the car and make it to church.
Obviously, it was Divine intervention.
Kinda like the transportation of Phillip the Evangelist to the Eunuch in Acts.
But a lot slower- which is probably due to the minivan.
Late Sunday afternoon I sat at the table with a cup of the Elixir of Knowledge, reminiscing about the really ugly, but still satisfying, Packer victory.
From that point the Elixir had me wandering aimlessly
One of those times when you think about everything and nothing for awhile.
I remember taking a swig and as my eyes looked over the cup I saw the hummingbird feeder hanging outside the Dining/Living/Family/Computer Room window.
It was still 3/4 full, not having any vistors for quite awhile, the hummers all gone south, evading the coming cold.
Yeah, just like "them".
That large contingency of older folks at church and in town.
Heading south, following the hummers and geese.
"Snowbirds" we call them.
It's a somewhat mildly derisive term we use to hide our envy.
Lucky-honkin'-snowbirds.
I felt a pang at the thought of taking down that feeder.
Just not quite comfortable with the idea of Summer being gone.
And the Autumn reality of the long Winter to come.
Huh.
Yeah, that's probably close to the same thing.
I thought,
"This must be what "Empty Nesting" feels like."
A transition.
A change.
I looked over at TechnoBoy engaged in an animated conversation with a cyber-buddy on another continent, their players scurrying up the street of the pixeled town on his screen.
This time next year, he'll probably be at college somewhere.
Testing those wings.
Calling home every weekend for the first month, then adapting and growing, the calls becoming more and more infrequent.
Change.
Yeah. The seasons of life.
Ready or not.
I tossed back the last of the Elixir and headed for the front door and the hummingbird feeder.
It's time for the change.
Ready or not.