True Crime? True Story.
In mid-October, literally October 15, my husband walks in the house and says, “You’re not going to believe what I just saw.” Now let me give you a little background. This man is a retired cop. Actually, he’s a retired State Police Lieutenant with a varied and colorful career behind him. He worked the road, patrolling the highways, he was awarded twice by the governor for seizing very large drug loads, he was an undercover cop with the local drug task force, ran that same drug task force AND ran the statewide terrorism office. He did a lot of other things, too, but you get the picture.
So, when this man comes in and says, “You’re not going to believe what I just saw,” my ears perk up. I told you a while back, I’m a huge true crime junkie, so I’m ready for the worst (best?) or at least a very interesting something.
However, verbatim, this is what he said, “They are putting out Christmas stuff in 3 aisles of ACE Hardware! Can you believe that? It’s only the middle of October!”
Now I know most of you don’t know me, but I have a feeling you can picture my face.
Seriously? That’s it? No dead body, no horrific crime scene, no mystery, no juicy information?
He’s 61 years old. Has it come to this? Is this really where we are? This is what we become indignant over?
Well, you can imagine my disappointment. To be clear, I’m not sad that no one was murdered, nor am I upset that a dead body was not laying in the street and no serial killer was on the loose. So once I put my dropped jaw back into place, I tried to see this from a different perspective. Dare I say, I tried to join him in his indignation. This is what I have come up with, this is as far as I can go. It's all I got:
Whatever happened to Autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, raking leaves, bonfires, smore’s? When we rush ahead into Christmas, we tend to miss all of this. I get a little crick in my neck thinking of all that needs to be done before the “major holidays.” Bottom line, we need to live in the moment. So even though the local ACE Hardware wants me to start thinking about Christmas, I will not! And neither should you. As far as that goes, I will not be thinking too far into next week, either. Let's focus on today, this moment! Yes, that’s it! Just this moment. None of us are guaranteed anything in this life beyond this very moment anyway. Let's do this together.
Promise?
Pinky swear?
You're the best!
And please, if you hear a juicy crime tidbit, do send it my way!
Thank you to my readers who shared some of their fences from last month.
I was inspired.
Maybe they will inspire you too!
From Stacy in Illinois (ok, she's my best friend, but she still counts!): Physically, hard work keeps my mind sharp because you have to really stop and think about your surroundings and your abilities. You have to assess and plan before moving to the next step of the work. Once the work can commence, it invigorates the body, it allows you to work up a sweat. (Awesome! Thanks Stac! Coaching isn't very physical, I gotta find something else...maybe tree trimming! * Readers, I must share the tree trimming story sometime!)
From Rita in Tennessee: I'm a runner. I feel my best after a good run. (That's amazing Rita! I wanted to start running in my mid 40's. My dad said, "Don't run. You don't know how to run." It was good advice. I tend to go overboard with new exercise routines and end up injuring myself. Good ol' Dad knew me better than I knew myself!)
From Kathy in Illinois: I challenge my brain by trying to memorize things. Right now I'm working on memorizing large portions of Scripture. (I love this Kathy! I also work on memorizing Scripture...hiding God's Word in my heart!)
My dear readers, I'm so grateful for you! Thank you for allowing me into your inbox and for the wonderful responses I have received this year from you!
Enjoy this day and enjoy the season!
Take good care of you!
Coach Renee