Whirl winds eventually die down.
Sometimes, it just takes longer than we like.
When the fall season of sports ended, the Drummer and I heaved a collective sigh, congratulated one another for surviving, and looked forward to a freer schedule.
One month later, we were still looking forward to a freer schedule. It wasn't happening. There were still numerous places to be and things to do.
Finally, December dawned, and we saw it.
Honestly, I think it was the first time, I really, completely exhaled in three or four months.
For with that turn of the calendar page, we saw that elusive margin of time.
Eight days were empty.
Yes, completely empty, as in no scheduled plans, no places to be, nothing.
Have they all stayed that way?
Of course not. However, theses eight days represented a margin of time. A margin we have been trying to find since the school year started.
For those of you who understand and can relate to this feeling of being outta time, you know this freeing sensation I reference.
For my readers who cannot comprehend the crazy-busy lifestyle we were living these past few months, I offer a comparison of sorts...
Our autumn time crunch was like a monetary budget stretched (complete with stretch marks) to find the last penny and squeezed (to the pulp) to make efficient usage of all the pennies found. When you live on a budget like that, money is tight. So was our time this past autumn.
The freeing sensation of finding eight empty days is like living on that tight budge, and one day, the air turns colder. You grab the winter coat you haven't donned since last March. Reaching into the pocket, you find a crisp new twenty dollar bill inside. Well, you can't help but laugh with the sheer happiness of it. Twenty dollars may not seem to a lot to someone who doesn't need it, but to those on that tight budget, it is a lifeline, and one to be celebrated. Yep, twenty extra dollars on a tight budget, that's eight, empty days on a crazy-busy schedule.
And, yes, I'm laughing with the sheer happiness of it,
Dorie
P.S. For the record, those are all sunset pictures.
