A month of change...

I've always espoused the thought that change is good. It may not seem like it at the time the change is occurring, but hindsight having perfect vision, inevitably I realize whatever changed in my little universe was for the better. I do wish, sometimes, though, the things that change wouldn't do so in such a concurrent and fast manner, but take a little time and allow me to settle into everything.

Case in point: September 2021. I'd missed a six month check up for my routine biannual dermatology appointment due to Covid, so I'd gone an entire year without getting checked out. To the average person in my age group, this wouldn't have been a problem. For me, it is - and proved to be. I have a history of melanoma. I've already been treated five times for it in the last three years and my derm guy had me on a three month, then six month return just to ensure all was well. The September appointment proved all was not. After three biopsies, two of which came back with recurring melanoma, I am now due for surgery this week to -hopefully - correct the issue. The change in my status from thinking I was cured, to finding out I was not was a bit...disconcerting, to say the least. 

 The day after my biopsies I received a call from my mother that my stepfather was being taken to the emergency room with severe stomach pain. Long story short - he had to have an emergency cholecystectomy ( gall bladder removal) and required a 3 day post op stay due to his age and cardiac status. My mother, who is now wheelchair bound due to her recent hip fracture, needed to be cared for in her home, so, as the only child, I drove back and forth daily to the state they live in and made sure she was fed, bathed, and okay. 

Once he was discharged, the change in his physical status was profound. He is slower, less sure of himself walking, and if I had to put money on it, a little less quick mentally, as well. The change in their lifestyle one year ago, prior to Covid, has been profound for them - and not in a good way. 

 Two bright spots of change also occurred, simultaneously with everything else. September brought forth the birth of my first grandson - two weeks early. He came into the world at 2 am on a Thursday and none of our lives - especially my daughter's and her husband's -- will ever be the same. And I signed a book deal with a new publisher for me for 5 books to be put into the world in the next 2 years. This is my first new publisher in three years and I am trying to adapt to all the change not being an indie author at the moment brings with it. 

 The world around me had suffered through a ridiculous amount of change this past month as well. The removal of troops from Afghanistan; the rising spread of the delta variant; the number of deaths from Covid; the lingering issues with the economy; hurricanes, fires, and tornados. It's been a momentous month - and not in all good ways. 

 Do I still think change is good? Yes, in the long run, I do. But as I said, I just wish it would take a little slower to happen at times so I could catch up and not feel as if I am always chasing my tail to do so. 

 Looking for me? I'm usually here: https://Peggyjaeger.com

As Time Goes By --- by Eleri Grace

 As time goes by, the seasons change. I enjoy the rhythm of those changes, even if our Houston weather doesn't give me the distinct seasonal change I crave. 

Summer is our longest season -- it starts to get warm enough to qualify by most people's standards as summer by April and it builds and builds and builds all the way past Halloween, with the hottest time spanning from early August to the end of September. Parents raise their eyebrows and worry that it's wasted money to buy any Halloween costume that isn't light-weight. We are at the moment in the most frustrating month for Houstonians. The calendar says it's soon to be fall, and yet, the temperatures regularly soar over 100 degrees throughout this pressure-cooker month. And the threat of hurricanes still looms over us at least into mid-October. 

Fall comes late to Houston, if it comes at all. Occasionally we have a glorious spurt of fall color that hits more or less as the calendar indicates it should -- even early October one crazy year. Most years, the fall color is vibrant for a week or two right around Thanksgiving or even into mid-December. One year, I distinctly remember we didn't have fall color until a brief spell in January. But that crisp pretty autumn weather I crave is hard to come by here. Fall comes and goes, day by day, from early November until right around Christmas. 

Winter, such as it is, can be as short as a few days in December or January or the better part of those months. January is the only reliably sweater-weather month. February is weird -- the leaves are starting to bud and flowers are blooming, but last year we had that life-threatening freeze right as people had thought winter was in our rear-view mirror. 

Then we have spring, which is generally from Valentine's Day through mid-April, when it starts to seem more like the beginning of our long summer season. We can have little pops of spring even into May, but April and May are definitely more summer than spring on the whole. We do have amazing azaleas, which we all missed last year because that harsh February freeze killed everything. Some of my plants didn't make it, others are only now showing signs of returning to their former glory. (And no, the hydrangeas pictured here don't look anywhere near this happy and healthy now -- they too are limping along and eyeing the calendar moodily)

I plan to retire somewhere that has real seasonal change, but even with the odd, out-of-sync seasonal shifts here in Houston, I appreciate the associations each season has for me, even if it's too hot for sweaters during what the calendar proclaims is "fall" for everyone else. Wherever you are and however you're celebrating the coming change in seasons, I hope you are finding peace and joy. 

I hope to have more change to report next month in the form of an upcoming book release. In the meantime, you can find more about me and my writing on my website. You can find my Clubmobile Girls series on Amazon.