Who's counting?

As I sit here on this gloomy, gloomy Thursday morning, one uplifting thought provides me some hope. Only 32 more days until the turning point.

I started doing this crazy countdown each fall a couple of years ago when it dawned on me one dark morning that we need to look forward to the darkness, more of it each day, cuz the more we have, the sooner it is until darkness turns toward the light.

So, instead of dreading the fall back from Daylight Savings time and really loathing the thought of Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year, I took on a new perspective. "Embrace it. Bring it on!" I decided, after years of beginning my dread of winter and darkness as early as August.

Too much time wasted, I finally reasoned. When Daylight Savings turns to Daylight Standard, don't frown. Rejoice! After all, the process has started toward an ending point.

Spending all that time in August, September and October dreading wasn't doing me any good. And hating it all even worse, once we were officially thrust into shorter and shorter days, was even less productive.

So, my glass half-full approach when the day is more than half empty of darkness, has given me a fresh, fortified outlook on attacking winter/dark doldrums.

Only 32 days left until the shortest day, I say. We're getting closer to filling our days with more and more light. Now (to myself I say) get to work on some projects, and it will fly by that much faster.

So, on this morning, I'm count the days until I leave the Lovestead, meet up with my daughter in Seattle and fly off to Maui aka Paradise, and I know there is much to be done. Disclaimer: Please bear with me if my counting fails on any upcoming projections; after all, I'm an English teacher.

Anyway, that would be 14 by my ciphering. By that day, we'll be down to only 18 days of progressively increased darkness.

~~~Number of days until you'd better have all those Christmas presents purchased. Would I be correct in saying 35? Only 35 more shopping days. Sounds okay and even sounds better when you factor in that when you have all your Christmas shopping completed, we're three days into the light.

~~~Number of days until you'd better have those Christmas cards, purchased, addressed, THE LETTER written, printed off, envelopes stamped, personal notes scrawled: 31. I like to have everything in the mail by Dec. 20, except for a few stragglers where I've lost the address or someone who hasn't sent me a card in 50 years suddenly catches me off guard.

By the time most of those cards go out in the mail, I'll be really happy---only one day of ultimate darkness left on the penultimate day of said shortest day. Did I use "penultimate" right, Florine?


~~~Days left until Christmas, when we can count on a quiet morning, blueberry muffins and lots of paper to clean up around the house, and the opportunity to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" for 24 hours straight: that would be 36, if my estimates are correct. And, on Christmas we'll be well on our way to noticing a change from the gloom.

I figure it usually takes about a week to start noticing more light at the end of the afternoon.

When that happens, there's a new spring in my step and a mind filled with hope and expectation for the time---still months away---when things will come alive again and there'll be no more flopping on the couch at 7 p.m., falling off---not the couch--but into a deep slumber halfway through "Entertainment Tonight" in the midst of a 400th interview with someone who walked by Michael Jackson one day and has some personal observations to offer about the late pop star.

By that time, we will have seen every inch of Levi's body in every possible setting, so we just won't care anymore because outdoor pursuits will be calling.

And, speaking of Levi, I need to announce that, as of this writing, a mere 7 days and 9 hours remain for you to bid on the Sandpoint Magazine, autographed by Sarah Palin. So, far--who's counting?---a whopping $51.10 has been bid in the EBay listing. Auction closes Nov. 26--just 25 days from the Solstice, just get your bid in.

For that assignment, go to www.sandpointonline.com, scroll down the right side, and you'll find the link to the auction site, plus all the information that proceeds will go to the Panhandle Special Needs here in Sandpoint.

I'm worn out from counting, and I've got a lot of stuff that needs to be done before all those deadlines mentioned above. I'm also 45 minutes closer to Dec. 21 since I started writing, and the day is getting brighter.

Time flies when you're counting toward a time in the future. Have a fun Thursday, and count your blessings. That's more fun than counting days; plus, it takes up time.