'Tis a Gift to be Simple

The calendar page has turned to October, the month we rumble over the hills reaping the harvest in our gigantic green machine. This ancient endeavor, simple in concept, complex in execution, can be stymied by the failure of one piece in the Rube Goldberg assemblage of belts and gears, chains and brakes, electrons and augers and weather, making one of the most rewarding of endeavors the most frustrating.  

In spite of breakdowns, long hours, dust, and meal after meal eaten out of bowls, October is a beautiful month, a time to appreciate rosy sunsets and the return of the familiar winter constellations on the way home from work. It is the month of my birthday too, an appropriate time to make a list of simple pleasures for those days when nothing seems fun….

Hot cinnamon spice tea...Harney’s is the best..

Eating together….in or out….

Hoodie sweatshirts and smart-wool socks

Rain falling at bedtime

Good smelling soap

Coffeecake for breakfast

Going to church

Wearing cowboy boots

Reading books aloud

Sitting or swinging on the porch

Taking walks

New paint

Dairy Queen blizzard, Culver’s concrete, Dairy Diner Bulldog

Pictures or paintings or letters from the grandkids

Riding in the combine at night

Big bluestem and other fall grasses

Christmas decorations

Windchimes

Irish coffee or Eggnog

Dodge diesel pickups

Heated seats

Hugs from Aaron, Lizzie, Gabe, Abbie, Josh and Levi..separately or together.

Black eyed Susans

Art museums

...and so many more....

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free.

‘Tis a gift to come down where you want to be….