Just a little thing

Today, as I was driving home, I couldn't help noticing how beautiful fall is. I don't think I have the most artistic eye in the world, but I do love watching the changes of the seasons, and seeing how beautiful each one is. Today's drive was just gorgeous, and I took a back road just to change up the scenery. It was a brilliant decision. I love the colors of fall.

Mostly I was glad that I could appreciate this small thing. I was also glad that I noticed. Things have been so hard lately, it cheers me up to realize that I can still appreciate good things. I don't know if I'm doing anything right, and I feel like I'm not doing much worth remembering at present, but I hope I have this memory for a long time. Because it really was beautiful.

Waiting

If I had to describe myself, patient is not one of the adjectives that would make the top ten. Not that I'm super impatient. I figure I'm pretty average on the patience scale. Some days are better than others, and some situations are easier to be patient with than others. Spur of the moment I'd say it's a lot easier for me to be patient with things that aren't life-critical and short term frustrations. Currently, my tolerance levels have been pushed to the limit, though.

It seems like every aspect of life is on hold. I wait for job openings to come up, then I wait for weeks/months for hiring committees to decide who they want to interview (generally not me, which is just how things roll in a tight economy, so I don't take it personally), then wait to hear back. I'm waiting to know where I will live, waiting to be able to be living on my own again, waiting to get started on the next stage of life. I suppose technically, this is a stage of life, but I'm ready to move on. This whole limbo thing is just boring, old, and tiresome.

Not that I don't try to make the most of it, but I have limited resources at present. I do what I can, though, and I'm sure that I'm growing a lot. That always seems to happen during the most frustrating moments of life. Anyway, I would love to think that I'm going to come out of this and be an absolutely patient person, and the whole patience thing will be over. But life's just not like that.

I've probably passed patience 101, and maybe now I'm enrolled in Patience 415. But, it takes time to master a skill and at some point, I imagine I will end up enrolled in Patience 790 (eesh, right now I really hope not!). But, 790 will be a lot easier because of 415 and 101. What I'm saying is, patience (and many other virtues) is a life long pursuit and I'll probably never be completely perfectly patient. But, if I can just be a bit better after all this at things like faith, endurance, patience, trust--well, then I guess that will be enough.

Remembering

The other day, for some reason, I was reminded of something from my childhood. After school, we'd play with friends or go outside, or just hide out in our rooms. Anyway, because there were a few of us to round up for dinner, at some point, my parents invested in a cowbell, which became the new system for announcing dinner. Someone would take the bell and ring it through the house, in the backyard, and on the porch, and we would hear it and come running for dinner (well, probably not always running). We (at least I) loved to be the one to ring the dinner bell. I honestly don't know why, because it wasn't the melodious sound, but then again, it was noisy, and we were kids, so that pretty much explains it. The bell sat on the back of the stove, and it wasn't uncommon for it to get knocked off as one passed by, or when the oven door was slammed shut (don't ask me why that might happen), and it would clang into the cast iron skillet that always sat on the stove.

I haven't thought about that bell in ages, and had kind of forgotten it. I don't even know when it faded from usage, but it was such a part of day to day life growing up that it seems a shame that it be forgotten. As an archivist (I can claim that title, even though I'm not employed yet, right?) I look at a lot of important records, but it seems to me that sometimes the most valuable records are the ones that remind us about everyday life for everyday people. Because a cowbell is totally normal, right?

The Adventures of Aunt Elise

I am currently staying with my sister, who has 5 kids. A lot of people gasp at that, which is odd to me, because I am the third of 8, and so 5 is nothing. Anyway, I will say that they do keep life entertaining.

One of the great pleasures is getting to play librarian for them. One of my roles as Aunt is recommending books. I love it when I strike gold. Mostly, my services are for the 2 oldest, but I had a chance to recommend something for the oldest boy, who just turned 8. It was a special reward to find something for him.

Another of my favorite things to do is listen to the 3 year old play. Kids in general are pretty entertaining to listen to when they don't know you are listening. One night, he had the Mr. Potato Head Darth Vader mask and was humming Star Wars music and doing the Vader breathing.

Three is a very interesting age. They are curious and smart as a whip. My nephew has long since figured out that I tend to have food stashed in various places. (I drive a lot, so I always keep snacks in my car). He learned to unlock my car, which means I have to keep a close eye on my keys. Otherwise, he is liable to break in my car, gorge himself, and one of these days he might figure out the ignition.

He also found my chocolate stash. I kept moving it, but he kept finding it. One day, I pulled out a few pieces, and his sister and I hid them for him to find. Ever since, he asks me once every day or two if I have chocolate. I say no, and he mentions the "chocolate game." It was clearly a hit with him, but I don't think his mom would approve of frequent playing of the game.

For some reason, he really loves my car. Last weekend, we moved his car seat to my car for a few days, and every time I mentioned going somewhere and that he could ride with me, he wanted to leave right then. He has been asking me every day since then if we can go to the store, which is one of the places I took them. Having a three year old for your buddy is a pretty good way to go. He is a master hugger. I do have to be careful about leaving technology laying around. (He has taken to turning on my laptop, and one day it had to reinstall some things in order to start. Love the system restore. I now put my laptop out of reach before I leave the house).

I also became a star by giving the 8-year old a Nerf gun. I suppose being a bit childish helps when it comes to shopping for kids. I hope that is a skill I can always put on my life resume.

Anyway, being an aunt is a fun adventure. Always something to entertain.