Change Is In the Air

The weather gauge in our backyard reads 3C / 37F when I get up. One degree lower than it was yesterday morning.

We’ve been chewing on the idea of doing a Costco run to Regina today and I chew on it a bit more while sipping my morning tea—brewed while it’s still dark outside, I might add.

It’s either Costco or a movie. I’m dying to see Twisters. The 1996 film, Twister, was and is one of my all-time favourite movies. I’ve seen it countless times and, if pressed, can recite parts of it. I have high hopes for Twisters.

But, I decide that Costco makes more sense and, when I run it past Gerry later, while we’re enjoying our first cup of coffee together, find agreement. Costco it is.

It’s about 50 minutes from our house to Costco in Regina. We head out early, hoping to beat the rush because Costco on a Friday? Ugh.

I’m surprised to see tinges of gold in the trees along the highway. Oh. So, we’re already at that point. I use my phone to capture a few images from the moving car, trying to get one reasonable one that shows the changing colour so I can show you later when I write a blog post.

We talk about the short growing season this year, and speculate about what kind of winter Saskatchewan has in store. Gerry tells me that the farmer’s almanac predicts it will be colder than normal with above average precipitation. I imagine cozy days spent at home.

But not yet. Not just yet.

It’s only August 9. There’s still a good bit of summer left. But, I confess I’m already looking ahead, not with dread, but peaceful anticipation for slower days and the return to routine that September ushers in even after all these years of not returning to a classroom after Labour Day.

Combines are starting to show up—not in the fields yet around here yet, but it won’t be long. Provincially, the Saskatchewan harvest is already 2% complete. We pass one yard where four combines are lined up and pickup trucks are scattered about. They’re getting ready. I feel the anticipation of harvest.

Once, I would have dreaded these changes, the desperate sense of wanting to hold on to summer for as long as possible, overshadowing everything else. Those days are behind me.

Summer is wonderful! I love the warm weather (but not too hot, please), long days, eating from the garden, sitting outside reading a book or tapping out words on my MacBook (like I’m doing right now), visits with friends and family, and all that it gifts us with.

Autumn is pretty wonderful too. So is winter, for that matter. And spring? Well, what can one say about the hopefulness of spring that hasn’t already been said in a thousand ways?! My point is that there is a whole lot of wonderful in every season.

These days, I take note of the dark when I get up in the morning. I feel a little something different in the air outside. The trees along the highway with the slightest bit of gold at the tips confirm what I already know. Change is in the air.