Just the Crickets and Me

There are those nights when my mind is in overdrive and I simply can't quiet it fully to enjoy my needed eight hours' rest. Such was the case about a month ago, when at 1:00 a.m., I glanced at the clock, groaned inwardly and realized that it was going to be one of those nights when sleep would evade me. After tossing and turning for about an hour and glancing every few minutes at the clock with mounting frustration, I finally decided to get up. I headed straight to the sun porch rocking chair where the open windows welcomed the summer nighttime breeze and the crickets in the backyard sang with abandon. Until 3:00 a.m., I rocked, the crickets sang, my breathing slowed and the warm breeze wafted in, swirling around me like a soft blanket. The restful, slow rhythm of my rocking restored the quiet in my mind. After a while, I was finally able to return to bed and fall into a deep, contented sleep. I awoke the next morning on time and remarkably refreshed. Our sun porch is a magnet for both my husband and me. We sit quietly there, alone or together, contemplating and taking in nature's beauty. The large, fluffy evergreen and row of tall arbor vitae are home to several species of birds, chipmunks and the occasional squirrel family or two. At dusk, the fireflies come out to dance and in the wee hours of the morning, the birds start singing to the new day. All seems right with the world from our sun porch, even in the middle of the night when sleep resists and the only sound in the inky sky is the jubilant chorus of the crickets.

Simply Dreamy

Despite the heat, we've had some pretty dreamy evenings this summer.  One recent evening took us to an outdoor concert where adults and children alike swayed to the gentle music.  The air was cool, the swallows captured insects as they swooped overhead, and all of my worldly cares seemed to stop, if just for a little while.  The late Gladys Taber wrote this about August in Stillmeadow Sampler (published in 1959 by J.B. Lippincott Company):  "I have read that energy is highest in October.  If this is true, then August is the time for dreaming, for taking a thoughtful look at life, and for letting some chores go by the board."  Mom had slipped a bookmark into that book that seems to confirm Mrs. Taber's August perspective:  "Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures."  Our summer concert was a small pleasure, yet I'm using my August this year to think some rather big thoughts, for taking that all-important thoughtful look at life.  Someone recently passed along wisdom via Twitter that really resonated with me:  "Relax, let go and listen."  Powerful wisdom for my August dreamin'.