As the days turn…

So many things going on, so many changes in the air.

The birds! We have a steady stream of birdlife in our yard…it changes season to season. Right now, our feeders and trees are teeming with chickadees and nuthatches. They are all plump and healthy looking and it fills my heart with joy to see them come and go. We always have gulls, eiders and cormorants…at this time of year, they are all about the same size…the babies of early summer are now grown and the times have been bountiful. The sights and sounds are so comforting.

Then there is the fact that my daughter is due anytime now (official due date is 10/6) with our first grandbaby. I am filled with such joy at all this. What surprised me, though, was the feeling which overcame me a couple of days ago. Katy, don’t read this…I have been thinking about my daughter going through the exquisite, overwhelming, all-consuming physical IMMENSENESS that is childbirth. I don’t want to scare her, but I remember how truly unprepared I was (even after LaMaze classes) for my body, mind and soul to be overtaken by something so beyond me, beyond control…the noises I made, the way I sprawled naked on the bed with legs widespread, caring not a wit that there were strangers in the room, the way my body completely blew away my mind. My little girl is about to know this, too. Now, things are so different these days…Katy’s a lot more prepared mentally than I was…she has had friends who have spilled the beans, so she won’t be too surprised. But it will be amazing to talk to her when she a babygirlbug come home and to find out how her experiences changed her perceptions.

My husband has finally joined the smartphone world. He works for a big company which, thank you thank you, provides him with communications devices. He has for years carried a Blackberry and a flip phone. He mocked the kids and me about our affection for our smartphones and declared everlasting devotion to his antiques. Recently, however, he has had a lot of trouble on the road getting information he needs in order to do his job…his devices were failing him. The company was in the process of replacing phones a few at a time. Hus’ time came when he left his Blackberry in a NYC cab (I promise, it was accidental)…the cab driver found it and it was eventually returned to the company. However, in the interim, the company killed his phone and he was without a phone or Blackberry for nearly a week…not always a bad thing, but when one works on the road, it makes life very difficult when there is no ability to communicate. The company, bless its heart, sent my husband a brand, spanking new Samsung Galaxy SIII to replace both his phone and Blackberry. OhMyGosh, what a difference. He’s going to have to learn all its bells and whistles, but he is finally not only out of the weeds, but he is state of the art! Enjoy your new toy, darlin’.

And finally, the weather has turned on a dime. The past couple of weeks have been just wonderful…coolish temperatures, lots of beautiful, crisp daylight and nights spent with the doors open to the outdoors, snuggled under the comforter…I really miss the beautiful colors of summer, but, oh, the breezes…