The beauty of it all
Our brain has over 100 billion brain cells, called neurons. Each one of those has between 10-50 glia cells. I'm no Einstein, but, that's a lot of brain cells.
After about the age of 35, we begin to lose about 7,000 brain cells. A day.
I tell you all this because I'm convinced I've only got about 7,000 of those little suckers left. Period. And if there's any new ones showing up, I think they're playing Hide and seek with me.
Example. Last week I spent 10 minutes in the morning looking for my wrist watch. I searched the only three places it could have been…the pockets of my slacks I had worn the night before, the living room end table, and my jewelry box. When it wasn't found in any of those spots, Harry and I branched out our search to include the whole house. Nothing. Nada.
Now if you're like me, you know with every fiber of your being, the watch was somewhere in the house. Why it wasn't in plain sight frustrated me so much I could have cried.
Afraid of being late for a work assignment, I left. Forty minutes later, I was in the car on my way to the office. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I glanced down. There was my watch. In plain sight. On my wrist.
First thought? Well, I can't print it. But I can describe it. Incredulous. How could it have been on my wrist for almost an hour and I never saw it? Even more incredulous is the fact, I didn't remember putting it on my wrist. But wait. How incredulous is it that even Harry never saw it on my wrist? And no. I wasn't wearing long sleeves.
I'm telling you…7,000 brain cells. The beauty of it all is that even dealing with that few, I'm lucky I still can remember I wear a size 6. (Yes I know that was back when I was 10 years old. But if I'm going senile, I pray to God he allows all my delusions to be pleasant ones.)
Since I'm talking about God, how about this time of the year?
Driving home from work, the words of this hymn came to mind: "For the beauty of the earth. For the beauty of the skies…(Chorus) Lord of all, to thee we raise, This our hymn of grateful praise."
Autumn. The beauty that surrounds us is almost so overwhelming that my spirit and soul are nigh to bursting with so much feeling. It's almost an aching.
The colors are so vibrant from scarlet, gold and amber leaves, to the happy orange of pumpkins.
With the fall come the scents of autumn such as ripening apples, cinnamon and pumpkin roll baking in the oven.
As I rounded the corner to home, a neighbor was burning leaves. I inhaled deeply. I felt it as much as smelled it. Memories surfaced of raking piles of leaves together only to jump in them and scatter them over and over again. Then watching my grandfather light a small fire and enjoying both the warmth and aroma of the burning leaves.
The sunrises and sunsets are more spectacular this time of the year. The moon seems larger and more luminous. The stars shine brighter and they're so close I think I should be able to reach out and put one in my pocket so I can wish on it anytime I want to.
"For the beauty of each hour, of the day and of the night, hill and vale, and tree and flow'r, sun and moon, and stars of light, (Chorus) Lord of all, to thee we raise, This our hymn of grateful praise.
While I love this season, I hate to see it come to an end because I know the dreary gray cold days of winter are soon to follow. I thank God I have a loving husband, a beautiful daughter and family and friends who bring warmth and love to my life during the long winter months and every other season.
"For the joy of human love, Brother, sister, parent, child, Friends on earth, and friends above, For all gentle thoughts and mild, …(Chorus) Lord of all, to thee we raise, This our hymn of grateful praise."
I am grateful for the beauty of it all.
Especially for the 7,000 brain cells I have left.
