Oh, it's glorious!  The first nip of fall is in the air.  Now when I say nip, I mean a Mississippi nip.  Our nip requirements aren't nearly as stringent down here as in other parts of the country.  If the highs are only in the 80's and the lows are in the 50's and 60's, then you have yourself a nip as far as we're concerned.

I just love fall.  The air is crisp.  The sky is a ridiculous shade of blue.  The stars shine bright.  I can't say that our leaves are turning colors yet but that will come.  Fall days just have a different look about them. 

It's the time of year when I feel my very best and the most alive.  I feel energetic and rejuvenated.  Everybody has their favorite season and, for me, I wait the whole, entire year for this time right here. 

I was getting really deep with my thoughts yesterday as I walked around the lake with the cooler air blowing on me.  I'm just such a deep, deep person, you understand.  Anyway, I thought about how if life had seasons, then I'm in about early fall.  Let's just say that life is divided into four seasons.....they would be about 20 years each.....if we're that blessed.  So, yeah....I'm in the fall of my life, God willing.

My skies are blue.  My air is crisp and clear.  Everything is feeling so right until.....oh, wait......the leaves start falling off my tree.  Whoa....hold on a minute!

I can relate to that.  I've been feeling a few of my leaves hit the ground lately and a couple more flapping in the wind and hanging on for dear life.  I recently started Lipitor for high cholesterol and triglycerides, which runs in my family.  I think your triglycerides are ideally supposed to be under 150 and one reading I had was more like a credit score....not a great credit score...but still...one that could get you a house or a car. 

Then I've got this new prescription to help with the most horrible acid reflux which has sent me to my wit's end in search of relief.  I remember my Daddy eating Tums like they were candy back when I was a teenager.  Now I know why.

Mix my new medicines in with what I was already taking and I'm starting to feel like the little, older people you see in the waiting room with their big bag of medicine in their lap. 

I've also been reading about what else I can do to control all of these "fall" ailments and it should be really simple to do with some simple dietary changes.  For the reflux.....it's easy.....I just can't have any tea, carbonated drinks, dishes with tomatoes, caffeine, chocolate, fried foods, spicy food, citrus, beef, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper, butter, or candy.  And for high triglycerides, I only have to avoid starchy vegetables, large amounts of fruit, coconut, pasta, potatoes, bread, sugary drinks, syrup, baked goods, fatty meats, crackers, cookies, pizza, cereals, doughnuts, and pie crusts.  Excuse me, Web MD.....you must have gotten your lists confused with my list of favorite things.     

So y'all don't mind me......I'll just be over here trying to get creative with the cream of tartar, pickle relish, wheat germ, and mustard because I think that's about all that wasn't listed. 
   
I am proud that I haven't had a Coke in a couple of weeks.  I was a one Coke a day kind of girl, but I've tried to cut those out and most desserts.  This is not easy though.  I've had this strange desire to take Alka-Seltzer just because of it effervescence.....my kingdom for a foamy head on a fountain Coke with pellet ice.  And if you sit next to me and eat a donut, I may want to lick your fingers.....or if you've been frying chicken, I may want to smell your hair, so don't be alarmed.  There have been a couple of days when I was feeling so hungry and unsatisfied that the children started to look juicy and delicious.

So, I guess it's come to that.  That season when you can't eat like a kid anymore.....the season of lab work.....that time when the genetic wheel slaps you in the face and says, "I'm running the show now".  Menus and phone book print start to shrink.  Ankles pop and creak when you get out of bed.  Moods swing like a Newton's cradle.  And the ol' estrogen factory has announced some layoffs and a reduction its operations.   

Sigh. 

So it's fall around here.....in more ways than one.  I don't mind being past the tender, green shoots of spring or the hectic, sweltering schedule of summer but I'm not quite ready to curl up for the winter just yet.  I'm just here enjoying the nip.


I'm embracing my fall.