FIRST FROST
If only you could sit where I now sit, and see what I am seeing: a glorious Fall. Out my huge picture widow is our mountain, decorated in burgundy, gold, olive, yellow, and rust; highlighted in blotches of shadow and rays of sun; and this morning…laced with white frost! What a magnificent way to begin my day. What a sweet ingredient to my morning coffee.
The cup I’m working on now is actually my second, however, it is the only one I’ve enjoyed. The first is lost. I don’t know where I left it, but somehow between making it and getting our six year old ready for school, the cup and I misplaced one another. So, I’m on cup number two…which is actually going to be cup number one. Though this may sound like a one time occurrence, the truth is that more and more that I’m forgetting little things.
Noticed more grey hair in the mirror over the last few months too. Yuk. This week the boys and I were sighting in my bow. After a few shots, I noticed some discomfort in my left shoulder-- that didn’t used to happen. I can’t any longer focus (with or without glasses) on anything small that is closer than two feet. Anymore, I am exhausted by 10 p.m. What’s happening to me? I mean, hey, I’m only HALf a century old! “Old!” Did someone say, “Old.” Yuk. Yuk. Yuk.
That last line is open for interpretation as being either a groan of disdain or a laugh at the truth. You, and I, must determine which it will be. As for me…I suppose I’d say that I’m laughing through the pain.
There is glory in the Fall. Frost can be just another part of it, but we all know that frost is only the beginning. We know that, even given the ruse of global warming, it is going to get colder over the next months. Winter is on the way. Aches, forgetfulness, graying hair are the telling frost of our personal winter. But until it comes, I’m living in my Fall and I don’t want to miss even one moment of it.
So, this morning I hugged and kissed on our son while dressing him for school. I decided to throw caution to the budget and encouraged my wife to enjoy a special outing with the kids. I stepped out on the porch and soaked in the cold air, wet foggy mist and noted the lingering odor of…..yes, this is true….a nocturnal visitor with four legs, a black coat, and a white stripe down his back! What a magnificent way to begin my life today. What a sweet ingredient to my morning coffee.
To those at or beyond a half-century…”Yuk.” or “Yuk, yuk, yuk” is your choice. To the rest….when you are where I am, I hope you’ll see what I see: a glorious Fall.
All material copyrighted by Stephen Meeks
--Gourmet Thoughts for A Gourmet Day ** Fresh Brewed Here Every Monday-- Millions of us begin our day with coffee. For some its a necessity; for others a simple luxury. Which ever your case, I want to share it with you occasionally--not to intrude, but, hopefully to enhance by offering a thought, an idea, an insight, or a story. After all, what better way to begin a gourmet day than with a gourmet thought and hot coffee?
