Back to Normal

The other day, I noticed a strange scent in the air, one that I had not smelled in nearly a year. It took me a moment to figure out what it was: Autumn. On the first day in weeks that the temperature dipped down below 90 degrees, it was there, faint, yet unmistakable. A crispness, the smell of dried grass and a faint ocean breeze. I thought that, with school starting this week, and the smell of Autumn in the air, that life's routines might soon be returning back to normal.

But then, just as quickly, the smell of Autumn went away. I should have known; it's too early for Autumn, anyway, at least here in the West, where temperatures usually remain summer-like until the end of September, and sometimes much later. The temperature is now back in the upper 90s, and a "normal" routine, if indeed I ever did have such a thing, I now realize to be just a mirage on the roadway halfway between where I am and the horizon line.

True, school does start this week; that part, at least, is not an illusion. I got a call last week from the principal at the local K-8 school, asking if I was interested in a long-term sub position. "Tempting," I said, "but no." Apparently the 8th grade teacher requested a year-long leave of absence, and the principal has not yet found a replacement. I told her all I could do is one or two days per week, since I am the pastor of the local church. I did tell her, though, that if it would help, I could make myself available for the first week of classes, which --- since the first day of school is Wednesday --- is only a 3-day commitment. So, on Wednesday, it's off to school I go.

And what is normal going to look like in my house? Chris, who turns 16 on Saturday, has been here for a month. I still do not have any legal claim to this teenager living in my house. It seems that we will need to solicit the help of a government social agency or two in order to make the things that need to happen, happen, but who knows how they will see things.

Weather forecast for the week: a cool-down to the lower 90s by midweek, and back into the upper 90s by week's end. Eventually, of course, summer will end, but what will that mean?