1.  It’s hard to let go of October.  On Sunday, the 11th, I sat outside and held on to the last wisps of the 80 degree sunshine on my face. Sure, the leaves were falling all around me, but for a moment I could close my eyes and feel the last gasp of summer-like breeze waving good-bye.

2.  I threw away a book.  The title was on somebody’s recommended reading list so I bought it because it sounded promising.  I groaned so many times while reading it that PB asked me if I was sick.  And I was.  Sick that I spent good money on such a poor read.  I couldn’t even put it in the Goodwill box.

3.  If you email a famous person, sometimes they email back.  Since getting a response from a recording artist, I’m making a list of famous people to whom I’m going to shoot an email.

4.  My new prayer is “Give me this day my daily words.”  My freezer is full and my grocery store is handy, so daily bread is not a struggle.  But I need words – lots and lots of words.  I am aware of how completely dependent I am on holy inspiration on a daily basis if I’m going to keep traveling down this path.

5.  People say “um” a lot.  Maybe I’m too sensitive, but I get really distracted by speakers or podcasters who throw an “um” into every sentence.  I find myself counting the “ums” instead of listening to the content.  “Like” is gaining ground on “um”. I listened to a 28 minute podcast in which the interviewer said “like” 37 times and the person being interviewed said “like” 194 times.  Uh-huh. I actually listened a second time, just to count the “likes”.

6.  I have another favorite old dead guy.  Right up there next to Charles Spurgeon is a man named Robert Murray McCheyne.  He lived from 1813-1843 in Scotland and was a preacher, pastor and poet.  He said things like, “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.”

7.  I spend a lot of time transitioning.  For one week in October, I kept a log of how I spent my time in half hour increments. It was an eye opener.  It wasn’t just the time spent watching TV or eating that surprised me.  It was the time spent transitioning between home and work and then work and home.  I can’t blame a commute – I work one block away from our house.

8.  The best part of going to conferences is the bus ride.  I went with 30 women to a conference this month and enjoyed the music and speakers.  But three and a half hours on a bus there and back was perfect for nice long conversations that otherwise wouldn’t happen.

9.  PB will not be outbid at an auction.  Since it was a fundraiser for our youth group, I didn’t mind the $120 pie.

10.  I get an extra hour to be 55. Daylight Savings Time ends on the night before my birthday. Delaying the inevitable bump up in the age bracket is okay by me.

What’s one thing you’ve learned in October?