Hello Goodbye

Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. None can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices no more easily made. And give, give in any way you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared, and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.

Kent Nerburn
American author, sculptor, theologian and educator, b.1946

Last evening, I took one last look at the August sun for this year. It was another beautiful sunset on the County Line.

How blessed am I to see the beauty of God's creation right outside my door!

Well, because of the trees, I do have to walk down the road a few hundred yards. But it's definitely worth the walk to see the colors of God's palette streak the summer sky.

August was beautiful, but I'll have to agree with the great philosopher (OK, baseball player) Willie Stargell:

I love September, especially when we're in it.

Willie Stargell
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and first baseman
1940-2001

Yes, Willie. I love September when we're in it, too, though he was probably talking more about the drive to the World Series.

What do I love about September?

• College football at Bill Snyder Family Stadium
• The chance to see my kids on college football weekends
  
• The hope for cooler temperatures
• The changing colors of fall
• A sweatshirt on a crisp September evening at a high school football game
  
• The milo transitioning from green to red
• The promise of a new crop ... planting the wheat kernels and anticipating the changes for the crop until it's harvested next summer
  
• Pumpkins and scarecrows
• Time for the Kansas State Fair
  
• And the list goes on and on ...
  

I had to wait for the sunrise this morning. It was supposed to happen at 7 AM sharp. But clouds hid the sun's rays from full view, just teasing the blue sky with a little color.

It was worth the wait.

As I stood waiting on the sunrise, a song kept going through my head. I've been watching reruns of the Fox television, Glee, this summer. They sang their version of "Hello, Goodbye" on that series.

But here, I've given you the classic Beatles' version. Their vivid costumes reminded me of the colors of the Kansas sky.

Enjoy your first day of September!