Thoughts from the Lap Lane

A week from today our pool will be closed. Some years, the end of August is so hot that it seems we should keep it open until October, but tonight when I walked up to swim some laps there was a cool breeze, and when I jumped in? It was coooooold!

Which was fine, because it made swimming for exercise that much easier, but it was also a reminder that come next week, I'm going to need another place to swim. Maybe indoors.

Let's Go

It was a good first day back.

Everyone was nice, and it was nice to see everyone. I got two hugs, a few compliments, and several laughs at my jokes. Even though I was a little behind, it was easy to take the time to be kind and empathetic. The activities were a good mix of meetings, professional development, small group, and on-your-own time. Lunch was good. Class sizes seem manageable, and the kids look nice, but not without some wackiness.

Year 27...

I see you!

The Beautiful

Minnesota-Wisconsin-Illinois-Indiana-Ohio-Pennsylvania-Maryland-Virginia

I saw them all on our way home yesterday and today, and even from the interstate there were some amazing views: rolling prairies and plains, so many farms, the Mississippi River, Wisconsin Dells, the Chicago skyline, the RV Hall of Fame, the infamous GM plant in Youngstown, the Laurel Highlands, the Appalachian Mountains, the Washington Monument, the Pentagon,

and home.

It was not quite sea to shining sea, but it sure was a good chunk of America.

Turn Signal

A chill wind blew and yellow leaves were literally falling from a tree down the street covering the pavement with the first blanket of Autumn as we rolled out of Rochester this morning. I guess it was time to go. 

Present Moment

It was tempting to manage my stress by throwing everything in the car at 8 PM and driving until midnight to get a head start on our trip home, but I'm glad I thought better of it. Such an attitude might be the very definition of living for tomorrow-- neglecting what is left of this glorious weather and our last few hours here in rockin' Rochester, a place where I have been very comfortable, and happier than our situation might ever suggest.

And so we decided that once our packing was done we would have a seat and enjoy tonight-- sip a beer, watch some Netflix, and savor the quesadillas concocted from the leftovers in the fridge. The journey is unavoidable, but the road can wait a few hours.

Seasonal Advice

This far north the daylight lengthens and shortens ever more rapidly as we get closer to the solstice. Today is 3 minutes shorter than yesterday, and in the 26 days we have been up here, the days are shorter by 58 minutes. 

Back home, when they put the fall displays up at this time of year it seems more than a little premature, but here there is a golden softening of the light and, yes, an ever so slight chill to the air that reminds me unequivocally that the world is indeed hurtling forward on this trip around the sun. 

And, as my mom reminded me this afternoon, if you shop early, you have a better selection.

Just Peachy

The past few years we have traveled to Atlanta at the beginning of the summer and New Jersey at the end, enjoying family and friends and delicious peaches throughout the season.

And while this summer away from home has been filled with fun and family, it has been a summer without peaches. The crop had not quite arrived when we left in mid-July, and here in Minnesota the climate is too cold for that temperate fruit. Sure, the grocery stores are full of rock-hard specimens and promises that they will ripen in a day or two, perhaps in a paper bag, but the reality is often mushy and bland.

So, I have avoided the peaches. That is until the other day when I passed a display of Colorado peaches that looked genuinely promising. A little squeeze convinced me that these might not be too bad, and I took a chance and chose a half dozen. The next morning I was not disappointed-- they weren't the best peaches in the world, but they weren't awful, either, and they were my first peaches of the summer, and so I enjoyed them.

Later in the day, at another store, I couldn't resist a big pile of huge, Jersey-looking peaches, and yet again, a little squeeze gave me some encouragement that they might not be awful. Once again, I was not disappointed. Although far from the perfect pick-your-own peaches of my childhood, they were fine. A little cinnamon, a little sugar, a spoonful of tapioca pudding, and summer was really here at last.