Do you notice
the passage of time? Do you have little signposts along the way that you look
to, that mark the progression of the days of the calendar?
I never
understood how thoroughly and in what particular fashion I marked the passing of
time and the changing seasons, nor how ingrained that little system of mine had
become until just this past week.
I rarely have to
rise early to drive my husband to work anymore, and only have to be the one to
pick him up at the end of his day one day a week, if that
often.
No longer having
that regular, daily long commute before dawn and then later again in the
afternoon has deprived me of keeping touch with my guideposts for the
progression of the seasons. When you travel the same route every day, at about
the same time, you tend to notice the changes. Or at least, I
do.
You become aware
of the sunrise, and how that is a few seconds earlier or later each
morning—well, until the clock gets changed, anyway. For example, I would measure
the advance of daylight in the spring by where, exactly, I no longer needed to
use my car's high beams on my drive home.
You measure the
progression of the changing leaves by noticing certain trees along the journey,
and the slowly increasing ratio of red, gold and brown to
green.
You also notice
the temperature in the morning when you step out of the house before dawn, and
mark the day in the fall when you had to wear that jacket for the first
time.
This year, I've
done none of the above and it's more than a little disconcerting. Because
suddenly here we are, in autumn, and I don't remember getting
here.
I had to pick my
beloved up just yesterday, and rather than either focusing on the music playing
on the radio, or my own thoughts, I paid attention to my rolling environment. I
had this strange sense that I'd missed something, for a lot of the leaves have
already turned and I don't know when that started.
I'd already felt
as if I'd missed a great deal of the summer, because we've been away a lot. We
came back from Texas, and I was just settling in to enjoy—or at least pay
attention to—our summer, only to realize it had begun to wane.
I always pride
myself on being one who stops to smell the roses, or the coffee, and the fact
that I haven't this year gives me pause.
Life happens,
sometimes at an astounding pace. Days can come and go and weeks turn to months
in the blink of an eye. This is a familiar concept and one I'd had my own little
system of besting.
Now I realize, I
need to find a new way to stay connected to the world around me, and to pay
attention to the days, and the passage of time.
Using deadlines
and upcoming conferences doesn't have the same pleasant side effect of lifting
my attention outside of myself. I need to do that, to focus on the world around
me, on nature, because that gives me a kind of grounding I haven't found
anywhere else.
Inevitably, when
I focus on the trees and the fields, the skies and the clouds, the streams I
pass and the forests along the way, I experience a sense of
wonder.
I need that
sense of wonder. I need that reminder that life is more than my little domain,
and in fact consists of things that are both awesome, and awe
inspiring.
Without the
wonder, without the awe, the magic of life is so much harder to
find.
Love,
The only dream I've ever had was to be a published author. It was a dream formed in childhood, and held on to through the business of growing up. Life intruded, as life does, and my dream was put on hold. But now, through hard work, faith, and luck dream has evolved into reality.
Romance is a wonderful genre that accommodates every other. Comedy, mystery, paranormal, suspense, or science fiction, romance embraces them all. Erotic romance gives all of that, and so much more.
For readers who want all the best traditional romance has to offer – great characters, compelling stories and a happy ending – and who crave that extra bit of heat – I invite you to read one of my novels and let me know what you think!
No comments:
Post a Comment