The Mint Patch Monologue

Tag: life

  • Turning the Corner

    This one into the fall, and I can feel my skin again. There was a briskness outside today, and instead of feeling encased in stagnant heat, the chill brought an awareness to my arms and my nose. The cool air went down smoothly into my lungs; I smelled the fallen leaves, I thought about playgrounds. There are delicate sheets of intricate webs hanging from tree limbs to slumped-over sunflowers, traps for the last of the flies. Around this corner there is no need for protective shade from heat or structure from harsh rain, darkness is creeping into my evenings. The cinnamon is left out, the oven has been busy. I resurrected the pumpkin sweater from the depths of my closet, and I looked carefully at wool socks while out shopping, but a new pair can wait. Everything can wait after turning the corner. If we don’t stop to savor the orange glow of fall we wont be properly tempered for winter and might freeze to death. Fall is like the last few bites of melted ice cream you really dig for at the bottom of the bowl, when it’s over all you can hope for is another one.

    The peach tree leaves are turning yellow, and I wish I could count them as they fall a bit more each day.  This week I’ll find myself decked out in flannel, raking up those leaves into a pile for the raised beds. Those are the moments when I feel like I’m in magazine photos, advertising for the newest outdoor brand. I might even pose for my own entertainment, maybe toss leaves into the air and laugh. Can you remember the last time you dove into a pile of leaves? I was always convinced there might be a snake hiding out among the swirling patterns, I was a cautious child. I insisted the leaves be stuffed into those plastic orange bags that had jack o lantern faces on them. Whimsy.

    Finally the magic, and mystic joys come to life.  A time we can believe Mr. Chicken after spending the night in that “haunted house.” Don Knots was a brilliant actor… the gardening sheers and the blood! Bless his heart, a hero in the end. I’m not a fan of horror films but I do have a checklist of movies I enjoy every year. For a complete list of my October watch list send me an email, I would love to share.

    This is a good time to build your indoor nest, drag out the electric blanket, unfold old quilts hidden in trunks, reach for those house shoes that have spent months hiding under the bed. Hats and scarves can wait of course, snow is a few weeks out and besides, let’s not get in a hurry. The sky is changing too, the sun doesn’t climb as high anymore and shadows grow long. My patience seems to grow longer this time of year too, what’s the fuss of being in a rush when there are stacks of fodder shock and dancing scarecrows to admire? Nevertheless the squirrels are in a mighty rush to prepare for winter, they are building nests too, and their busy scurrying is curious to watch.  There are folks who keep them fed at our own 47 acre Central Park, the spoiled little creatures carry mouthfuls of peanuts and on occasion, french fries.

    The slanted sunlight on the purple mums sends my soul into orbit, circling from one beautiful thing to another. A carpet of leaves, the full harvest moon, a decorated hearth, fresh pumpkin flesh scattered for chickens, hot coals, hot chocolate, plumes of rising smoke, Indian corn, candy wrappers, plaid bows, little candle flames, and buckets of gourds.
     

    Dearest reader, may you be fulfilled with the rich aromas and sensations of fall, address a letter to The Great Pumpkin, and dip your apples into as much caramel as a slice can hold on to.

    Thank you for reading, and drop me a line sometime, I DO love to chat!

    justicesarah67@yahoo.com

  • Pinched about the Past

    Lately I’ve been nursing the sting of nostalgia. My mind wanders back to a classroom that doesn’t exist anymore, one with crayons and glue, shapes and colors. I wish to belly up against a glossy desk with curiosity for the day; to have no say in what I eat or where I go, to just be along for the ride. I want my imagination back, not the dreams of world peace but of dragons, ferries, caves. My ignorance bliss is forever gone as long as there are screens around. Going far away was easy because it was only to the end of the street, just out of view for a second. I miss the weightlessness of the past because in the present even the problems that aren’t mine still feel like mine. I wish to believe in everything again, how easy it was. The condition of being a grown up- that everything feels like waiting, but not for anything good. And because these are all acute injuries to the spirit, I’ve chosen to do nothing but embrace what is true about my life now. What you resist will always persist, and so I’m giving myself a dose of acceptance this week and raising a toast to time and change. It is a comfort to know that Gladys would have been so understanding, in Stillmeadow Calendar she writes… “One morning I go out to pick wild asters and suddenly it is September at Stillmeadow. I think it is the smell of the air, like the wild grapes and windfall apples. I know fall is here, although the world is still green with summer. …I feel an urgency to gather in all the loveliness of the past blazing days and star-cool nights and keep them forever.” If only I would have known about growing up then, I would have gathered up so much to bring along for the life ride. I know now there lives a moment in time that I kicked my green soccer ball into the invisible goal against the neighbor’s fence for the very last time.

    If you read my past posts you would know about the pencil season and my habit for picking up pencils around the school grounds on my walks. This is been a slow year, and I grew fearful that perhaps kids gave up pencils all together for digital scribbles. My walk on Thursday proved otherwise because not only did I find 3 pencils, but two of them were colored pencils -one orange and one purple. Secondary colors. It occurred to me that these little hints were there for me on purpose, to remind me that I am on the secondary season of my life. Where I had intended on making a left, seeing the pencils lead me to walking in the direction of a little neighborhood pond, and so I took heed to what the universe was telling me. As I walked and reflected on taking life a little too serious sometimes, I was reminded that in spite of how short our lives are, I still have so much ahead of me.

    Decades from now I may feel the same sting of nostalgia, but for my little house on Blackburn Avenue, taking walks around the middle school, making soups and spending time with my little angel poodle. Maybe to treat my current aches I will gather up some loveliness from these days to carry with me forever.

    Alongside of my toast to time and change, I also say cheers to the last calendar day of summer. It was 88 degrees here today, we had a very hot and bright weekend, perhaps one of the last hot weekends of the year.

    If you find your heart pierced with nostalgia I suggest you take yourself out for ice cream, it might be your last until the warm days return.

    Thank you for reading and as always, drop me a line because I DO LOVE to chat!

    justicesarah67@yahoo.com