Ice jail or spectacular display?   For a week I pondered the question.  Looking from within, I felt trapped by the jagged wall of ice and afraid of water flooding through the roof.  I imagined eaves troughs crashing to the ground from the excessive weight and icicles impaling unexpected guests.  I shivered from the cold and longed to live where palm trees grow.

When I walked outside, the clean, brisk air filled my lungs and I felt free.  A tiny drop of water caught my eye.  I followed its path down the craggy, frozen barricade and contemplated whether it would add its mass to the tip or fall to the ground.  Each icicle was unique in size, shape, length, diameter and density.  Visions of sword fights atop hard packed snow banks danced in my mind as I chose my favorite.

Ice jail or spectacular display?  I concluded both are correct.  The icicles remained constant.  I was the variable.  It was my perception that changed the icicles from a threatening, exterior force to an awesome creation of nature.  Lesson learned is to look for beauty and stop worrying about things that may never happen.

Labor Day has come and gone.  It is the traditional end of summer, a marker in time that sends the United States scurrying.  Highways clog with cars packed to the roof as students migrate to college.  Bright, yellow school buses hit the road to pick up backpack laden children dressed in oversize clothes.  Congress returns to Washington.  Playtime is over and it is time to get down to business.

Like a squirrel scurrying to hide away nuts for winter, I kick into gear to ready my nest for the impending dark, cold months.   With summer’s heat gone, it is a perfect time for indoor and outdoor painting projects.  I find myself racing the calendar to get gutters cleaned, leaves picked up and gardens tidied.  In our house, we burn wood to supplement our oil furnace, so that means cutting, splitting and stacking.

Self improvement nags at me in the Fall.  Twenty years ago, I bought a Tony Robbins tape series that I listened to every morning on my Nordic TracK skier.  He professed CANEI- constant and never ending improvement.  Those words still haunt me.  I cannot allow myself to remain status quo.  This year, I enrolled in a class to be fit.

I am sad that summer is gone, but it is time to get down to business by taking care of ourselves, maintaining our homes and helping others.   In the midst of our busy lives, we must remember to lend a helping hand.   We can all find a way.  It can be as simple as a smile, kind word or holding open a door.   Personally, I donate blood every two months.  When my husband was ill with leukemia, he needed countless transfusions of blood and platelets.  We are grateful for generous people who gave the blood that kept him alive until his bone marrow transplant.  My husband is a fantastic cook.  His way of giving back is to cook meals for shut-ins and provide transportation to doctor’s appointments.   Everyone has something to share.

All work and no play makes for a dull, bitter life.   Although there is much to do, I am also looking forward to the joys of Fall.  It is a time for trips to the vineyard, apple picking, leaf peeping, long walks, football games and holidays.   As the days become shorter, my nights will be spent curled up in front of the fire with a glass of cabernet and a good book.

Friends, it is Fall, down to business and up with fun!  Cheers!