Living Life In Color

Today was another great day for a walk around the subdivision.  It was actually a little bit chilly when Jack and I started out, and it was already late (close to 10 a.m.), but I was happy in my shorts and t-shirt.  I had to wonder what the older couple who walked by wearing jeans and fleece jackets thought, but they didn't seem to notice, and that's just fine.

Living in the moment means you enjoy today without dwelling on the future.  I'm getting better at doing just that.  When you worry about winter cold and ice, you miss the beauty of autumn, and I think I missed MANY autumns in just that way before moving to Florida.

I do, however, find myself hunting for clues of the impending color show that we will soon have in this area.  And I did find one which I captured on my phone and am sharing here.  At first I thought it might just be those berries, or some dead leaves, so I literally crossed the street to get a closer look.  No doubt about it - the magic has begun.

I have always loved diverse colors.  As a child, one of my favorite things in the world was the fireworks at 4th of July.  My dad used to always take me to see a display somewhere in the area that wasn't too crowded.  

Dad knew I loved the sights and sounds of fireworks displays (except the really loud bombs) and parades (even though the drums made my tummy feel funny).  I never knew how much he hated crowds and traffic when I was young, and I have to give him a lot of credit for that.

This past summer, for the 3rd straight year, I had the best seat in the house for a really spectacular fireworks display over Lake Verona in Avon Park, Florida.  Who can complain about sitting in a lawn chair in your own driveway watching the most AMAZING colors right over your head, and yet being able to hear the cheers from the more crowded viewing points all around the lake?  No matter how depressed you might be, you can't help yourself from being in awe at a moment like that.  I loved it.

I always thought I would love living somewhere where I didn't have to deal with ice and snow.  At first, I did, just because it was DIFFERENT.  But I sure learned a lot about myself in the last three years or so.  Always green can be boring.  Always either hot or hotter can be boring and quite uncomfortable for a woman with hot flashes.  Always anything is never different.  

I'm not sure the editing police will like that last sentence above, but I do.  And it's my blog.

Different is good.  Different means change.  Change means growth and adaptation.  These are the things that keep us young.  I don't want to ever get old in my mind.  I know my body will get old and already has its limitations, but rather than brace myself against those and other changes, I'm going to try something different.

I leave you with a quote from one of my all time favorite vocal groups, Carpenters, from their song "It's Going To Take Some Time."

But like the young trees in the wintertime, I'll learn how to bend.