Fall Day

It's been one of those nice fall days that comes around every now and then this time of year.  It was full of sunshine, and temperatures warmed up near 58-59 degrees Fahrenheit. (I'm not sure what that is Celsius. 15 degrees or so. I do better with the linear measurements and the weight measurements.  I wish America would actually join the rest of the world and go to the metric system.) I went to my parents' to visit with two of my sisters, my brother, and mom and dad.  We had an enjoyable visit.  My brother and I are just alike in many ways though he is five years older than I.

I'm excited that I get an extra hour of sleep tonight.  The little things mean a lot. With the time change, it will be lighter in the morning when I get up, but it will be darker in the evening.  It will be dark by 5:30 p.m.  The long winter nights tend to depress me.  I can't imagine living in a place where it's dark for weeks at a time.  One of the things I really liked about the Michigan area when we vacationed there a couple years ago was that it really didn't get dark until after ten.  It messed with my sleep a little bit, but I loved the longer daylight hours.  I just loved Michigan period.

At 53, I have accomplished many of the goals I had when I was in high school.  I wanted to be an English teacher, lo and behold, I've taught English for 28 years.  I wanted to make money from my writing, and I do, though it isn't a lot.  (Definitely not enough for me to quit my day job yet.)  I wanted to get married and have children.  I did get married (and am still that way), and we have had one beautiful, smart daughter.

Even though I have achieved many of my goals, I don't think I should quit.  Bob Dylan has a lyric in one of his songs that says, "He not busy being born is busy dying."  That's so true.  I still have a couple of goals, but I don't know if I will every accomplish them. I really want to teach full time at a college.  I have taught part time for Mineral Area College for 22 years but never full time.  I would also like to be a successful young adult fiction novelist.  Though I have published YA stuff in a couple of POD publishers, I have not had the success I want.  I've had more success with plays and educational material.

I still have some time, but when does the time come when I can say, "I've done enough."?
Today Andy Rooney died.  He retired a month ago.  I didn't always agree with Andy, but I enjoyed listening to him.  Former Cardinal pitcher Bob Forsch died also.  He was 61 and just a few weeks ago, he threw out the first pitch in the seventh game of the World Series.  He pitched two no hitters in his career, one more than Bob Gibson.