Savoring the Days

I don't like it when the days get short. As a youngster, I didn't think much about when the sun went down...I just knew I loved summers, when the days were long and hot. We played and played in the evenings until the dew began to fall on the ground and the fireflies came out to dance. When we came inside, Mama sent us immediately to take a bath (always baths, never showers, not sure why!). We then went to bed, where it was prudent to be not completely dried off....so the tiny bit of summer breeze from the open windows would keep us cool long enough to fall asleep. Summer was a hazy dream, then came September and the Fall, where school and basketball took over. I think of steamy gymnasiums and the bleary skies when winter reigned. Christmas was the star, and then it was a hop, skip and jump to Spring. 

When we married and I had our first son, it was prudent for me to take that loud, curious boy for a walk every day. I found that he was happiest when the outdoors were involved and he was moving. We soon knew most of the old folks in our small neighborhood that backed up to the train tracks in Mableton. I was never so aware of the changes in the seasons. When the fall time change occurred, I was so sad. Ken worked evening shift at the plant, and baby Jon's nap time was in the afternoon, so when the dark winter took over it seemed cruel and mean to me. I'd lay the baby down for the night, usually by 7:30 or so. Daddy wouldn't be home for hours, so the house was still and quiet. What at first was difficult became my happy place. I had a good four hours to create, paint, draw, sew, or just catch up on housework. There was no internet and I'm not a big TV watcher. I went to the library and got books (remember them?) on how to do new things. It laid a foundation for so many layers of life experience that also affected my husband, children, other people, and even helped us as we made choices along our unorthodox and interesting paths. No college or traditional trajectory could have taught me what I learned in those quiet, dark evenings alone with my babies. I will ever be grateful for those serene, simple years where I was able to focus on what may have appeared to others as trivial, but was actually what mattered the most: God, my family, ministering to others, learning, reading, praying...plain walks in a humble neighborhood, fixing up our tiny abode to be a little warm place to come home to. 

Last night, while my husband had a meeting, I took a walk with the dog. Sundown took me by surprise. I forgot that it's getting dark earlier. The night smells of trees starting to give up their leaves; I heard the murmurs from houses where supper was being served, laughter across the way. Cars rush by, hurrying to their destinations. I paid attention to the sidewalk... nobody needs me having a fall. That bit of dewy chill hit me and I thought about long days ago, walking my newborn babies on such days. The days are long and the years are quick. How I love them and the people found there.